Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ

by Giulia Enders

messages in all directions in a pubescent brain. This process is not complete until we reach the age of about twenty-five. After that, nerves react according to well-rehearsed patterns. Patterns that have proved useful in the past are retained; others are rejected as failures. This explains the disappearance not only of the inexplicable fits of laughter and temper tantrums of the teenage years, but also of the posters plastering the bedroom walls. After this age, we find it more difficult to deal with sudden change, but the payback is a more stable, calmer disposition. This can also result in negative thought patterns taking root, such as “I am worthless” or “Everything I do goes wrong.”