Stomach Brain!!!!

Wow, they say you learn something new every day..... and today I have learnt that we humans have a kind of mini brain in our stomachs similar in size to a cat's brain!!
Honestly, it's true.
There are over 100 million brain cells in your gut, (as many as there are in a cat's head) and these are busy digesting our food, plus keeping in close contact with its bigger friend, the head brain.
A good example of this communication is when you get that whole "butterflies in the tummy" kind of feeling; this is when the blood gets diverted from your gut to your muscles when you are scared or nervous, and the weird feeling is your stomach brain protesting to your head brain!
Of course there are probably many other conversations that go on between the two, and we can only imagine what they might be..... last night's tv for example, or politics, or whether in fact the Loch Ness Monster is real, and if there is life on other planets...... I like to think that my stomach brain and head brain have such interesting discussions....particularly when I've had a glass of wine or two...
So today's photo is of my beloved Tiger, sadly no longer with us.... maybe my stomach brain and his little cat brain are still in touch on some level......