This site might give some a more detailed view point of whats being described
http://www.ichikung.com/html/dantians.php
THE LOWER DANTIAN AND KINESTHETIC AWARENESS
In addition to being the center of physical strength and the source of stamina, the Lower Dantian is also considered the "house" of physical (kinesthetic) feeling, communication and awareness. Kinesthetic communication is the level of awareness referred to as "the intuition of the physical body," and is stimulated by particular aspects of the subconscious. The subconscious mind picks up many signals from the environment that are not processed by the logical mind. The subconscious mind may react to these signals with spontaneous body movements, or with subtle but powerful emotional responses sometimes referred to as "gut feelings."
Kinesthesia is defined as "the sensory experiences mediated by nervous elements within the muscles, tendons and joints, and stimulated by bodily movements and tensions characterized by movement." It is this kinetic state of awareness that allows the Chi Kung doctor to naturally feel the patient's internal resonant vibrations. When the doctors' body suddenly feels hot or cold, starts shaking or trembling, this may indicate that the subconscious mind is trying to communicate, and is resonating with the location and condition of the diseased areas within the patient's tissues.
Often, the feelings experienced in the Lower Dantian are very subtle. For this reason, Chi Kung doctors are trained to establish a heightened degree of awareness of their own body, and are thus able to pick up subtle variations and energetic shifts within themselves and others. When doctors collect energy in the Lower Dantian, an increased awareness and sensitivity naturally occurs. Cultivating this ability requires the practice of paying attention to the physical body (training kinesthetic awareness). A high level of awareness of the physical body, the surrounding environment, and the relationship between the two, is required in order to maximize kinesthetic communication. When physical awareness is increased, feeling and kinesthetic body movements happen naturally. These subtle senses allow Chi Kung doctors to feel, smell, or hear energetic phenomena as they are released from the patient's diseased tissues.
THE LOWER DANTIAN AND SCIENCE
The Lower Dantian's "Brain," is known in Western terms as the enteric (intestinal) nervous system. According to research conducted by Dr. Michael Gershon, a professor of anatomy and cellular biology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, the Lower Dantian sends and receives impulses, records experiences, and responds to emotions. Its nerve cells are bathed in and influenced by the same type of neurotransmitters that exist in the Brain.
The entire nervous system mirrors the body's central nervous system and is a network of 100 million neurons (more neurons than the spinal cord), neurotransmitters, and proteins that can act independently of the body's Brain and can send messages, learn, remember, and produce feelings.
Dr. Gershon explains that major neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, glutamine, norepinephrine, nitric oxide, enkephalins (one type of natural opiate), and benzodiazepines (psychoactive chemicals that relieve anxiety) are active within the neural system of the lower abdominal area. The lower abdomen also has two dozen small Brain proteins called neuropeptides. Dr. Gershon's research provides modern scientific verification of what Eastern wisdom has taught for millennia; that centers of consciousness exist at places in the body apart from the organ of the Brain. The abdomen or Lower Dantian, is one of these major centers of awareness.