Many people are familiar with the expression “sucking in the pit of the stomach” – this is how they usually talk about the unpleasant sensations that occur with severe hunger, anxiety, excitement. But few people really know where that “spoon” is located. Neurologist Alexandra Tolsteneva said that the “spoon” used to be called the hollow under the ribs above the xiphoid process of the sternum, reports Doctor Peter.
“In this place are part of the stomach, the pancreas and the nerve plexus. And all of them vividly react to a stressful situation, including hunger. For example, when a person is faced with a thrill, danger, nervous or frightened, his autonomic nervous system is activated. And it, in turn, enhances the motor activity of the stomach in this area, the doctor explained.
Tolsteneva added that there is such a thing as a “migrating motor complex.” This is a cyclic, stereotypically repetitive contractile activity of the stomach in between digestion.
“The third phase of digestion is like a flash of contractile activity. It starts from the antrum of the stomach and then spreads to the entire intestinal tube. This is the so-called migratory motor complex (MMC), and we can perceive this activity as “sucking in the pit of the stomach,” the doctor added.
Source: Rosbalt
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