Scientists eavesdrop on gut-brain signals to understand disease mechanisms
Scientists have built a super-thin implant that listens in on real-time nerve chats between your gut and brain.
By placing it in the colon, they can track signals from the enteric nervous system (ENS)—a huge network of neurons running your digestive system.
This could finally help us see how these hidden conversations shape our health.
Real-time monitoring, even while awake
Unlike old-school methods that were limited to sedated animals, this device tracks gut-brain signals in awake rodents and pigs for up to two weeks.
That means researchers can catch what's happening during digestion, stress, or treatments—basically, natural behaviors such as eating or experiencing stress.
Why does it matter?
The ENS is linked to diseases like IBD and other neurological conditions.
With this new tech, scientists get a front-row seat to how the gut and brain talk over time.
It might open doors for better ways to spot or treat tough conditions—and help us understand just how much our guts influence our brains (and vice versa).