When we picture the nervous system, most of us probably imagine a little pink brain connected to a curvy white spine. And while that picture is certainly accurate, it’s not actually the whole story. What’s missing from that mental picture is the all-important enteric nervous system, the complex web of over 100 million nerve cells that line our digestive tract. In fact, among scientists within the neurobiology field, this intricate system innervating our gut is often referred to as our “second brain”.