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Updated: May 14, 2026
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Real-time Analysis of Gut-brain Neural Communication: Cortex wide Calcium Dynamics in Response to Intestinal Glucose Stimulation
Published on: December 29, 2023
Brain networks encoding rectal sensation in type 1 diabetes.
D Lelic1, C Brock, E Søfteland
1Mech-Sense, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University, Denmark. dl@mech-sense.com
Neuroscience
|February 7, 2013
Summary
This study reveals altered brain networks in type 1 diabetes patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, linking these changes to disease duration and symptom severity. These findings suggest potential biomarkers for abnormal visceral processing in diabetes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gastroenterology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms exhibit abnormal esophageal sensory processing.
- Investigating visceral afferent processing and the gut-brain network in diabetes requires less invasive stimuli than esophageal stimulation.
- Rectal electrical stimulation offers a novel approach to study brain network responses in T1DM with GI issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate brain network alterations in response to rectal electrical stimulation in T1DM patients with GI symptoms.
- To correlate observed brain network changes with clinical parameters such as disease duration, GI symptom severity, and quality of life.
Main Methods:
- Twelve T1DM patients with GI symptoms and twelve healthy controls underwent 24-h electrocardiography.
- 122-channel-evoked brain potentials were recorded following rectal electrical stimulation.
- Brain source-connectivity analysis was performed and correlated with clinical data (gastroparesis cardinal symptom index, SF-36, disease duration, RR intervals).
Main Results:
- Diabetic patients showed altered operculum-cingulate network connectivity compared to controls, with deeper/anterior operculum and anterior cingulate sources.
- The operculum source shift correlated with disease duration, GI symptom severity, and decreased heart rate variability (RR intervals).
- The cingulate source shift correlated with mental quality of life; network contributions differed significantly between patients and controls.
Conclusions:
- Findings provide evidence for central nervous system (CNS) involvement in T1DM with GI symptoms.
- Network reorganizations correlate with GI symptoms, suggesting rectal-evoked potential irregularities as a proxy for abnormal visceral afferent processing.
- Observed network changes may serve as a biomarker for disturbed sensory visceral processing in diabetic patients.
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