Abstract Our gastrointestinal tract is innervated by specific classes of extrinsic sensory afferents, which follow either vagal or spinal pathways. Vagal afferents have cell bodies located within the nodose or…

Abstract The gut microbial community acts as a vector for mediating effects of diet on host physiology. Recent advances in the next-generation sequencing and mass spectrometry along with translatable animal…

Abstract Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are part of the control system that orchestrates and regulates a diverse set of motor patterns in all parts of the gut to facilitate…

Abstract The enteric nervous system (ENS) is an independent “brain-in-the-gut” that integrates gastrointestinal motility, secretion, and blood flow into homeostatic patterns of gut behavior that have susceptibility to becoming clinically…

Abstract Visceral information reaches the brain through a diverse array of neural, humoral, and immune pathways, conveying an abundance of ascending visceral information that helps to maintain homeostasis within the…

Abstract Secretion and absorption of water and salt are essential for digestion, absorption of food, and the mucosal barrier that separates gut microbes from the rest of the body. It…

Abstract While a variety of peripheral candidate biomarkers related to functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) continue to be investigated, none appear to account for a large proportion of the symptom variance…

Abstract This chapter discusses major recent advances that have been made in our understanding of intrinsic myogenic control mechanisms of the stomach and the complex interactions between intrinsic excitatory and…

Abstract Overview of new advances in understanding enteric neurogenesis is achieved in this chapter. The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a network of neurons and supporting glial cells in the…