Washington: The body's natural defensive mechanism to get rid of bacterial toxins is the urge to vomit after eating tainted food. But the mechanism by which our brain starts this biological response after sensing the germs is still a mystery. Researchers have created a detailed neural map of the defensive responses in mice from the gut to the brain for the first time.
The study, published in the journal Cell, may aid in the improvement of chemotherapy-related nausea treatments for cancer patients. After being consumed, many foodborne bacteria produce toxins in the host. When the brain detects them, it will set off a chain of biological reactions, including nausea and vomiting, to get rid of the substances and create an aversion to similar-tasting or-looking foods.
