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Updated: Mar 9, 2026

In Vivo Calcium Imaging of Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons' Response to Somatic and Visceral Stimuli
Published on: March 1, 2024
Emerging studies of human visceral nociceptors
David E Reed1, Stephen J Vanner2
1Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Unit, Kingston General Hospital, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada david.reed@queensu.ca.
Abstract:
Animal studies have led to significant advances in our understanding of pain mechanisms in the intestine that could lead to altered signaling in disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome. However, how these translate to the human afferent nervous system is unclear. Recent studies have demonstrated that it is possible to use a variety of techniques, including electrophysiological recordings, to begin to examine these concepts in humans. This mini-review examines these studies to explore how well animal studies translate to humans suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, highlights some of the advantages and technical limitations of these approaches, and identifies some priorities for future studies using human tissues.
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