Understanding the constant dialogue that goes on between our gut and our brain

Just past midnight on Sept. 26, 1983, Lt. Colonel Stanislav Petrov, a member of the Soviet Air Defense Forces serving as the command-center duty officer for a nuclear early-warning system, faced a decision with unimaginable consequences.Cold War tensions were running hot. The Soviet Union had recently shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, killing all 269 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 747. The Soviets claimed the plane was on a spy mission and represented a deliberate provocation by the United States.Now, in a bunker outside of Moscow where Petrov was stationed, alarm bells blared as Soviet satellites detected five U.S. ballistic missiles heading toward the USSR. Was this a real nuclear attack warranting retaliation? Or was it a false alarm? Gazing at a screen that flashed “launch” “launch” “launch,” Petrov had only minutes to decide.Thirty years later, Petrov reflected on his fateful decision to ignore the signal coming from the satellite detection system — which, of course, had turned out to be erroneous. But at the time, when he couldn’t know that for sure, Petrov said he ultimately made the decision based on “a funny feeling in my gut.”In his book “The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health” (Harper Collins, 2016), Dr.Emeran  Mayer retells Petrov ’s story, and he notes how many historic and present-day decision-makers have cited unspecified feelings in thei...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news