A team of researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new device that can better observe the ways in which various neurons are involved in brain-gut activity and how they behave. The new device is described in a recent article published in Nature Biotechnology.
The brain-gut axis has emerged as a key point of interest for researchers in clinicians. In a nut shell, the brain-gut axis is a system of communication signals whereby the brain and the gut communicate with each other on a two-way road. The brain speaks to and influences behavior in the intestines, but activity in the intestines and other digestive activity can influence brain behavior. For example, research has begun to emerge showing that microbiota in the gut, which are shaped by what we eat, can actually affect our mental health, providing a holistic view of the human body and health.
In other words, it’s not just the brain dictating to other parts of the body, but other parts of the body are shaping brain activity. The challenge, however, has been studying this incredibly complex relationship. MIT researchers seek to change that with their new device.
The new devices are small electronic probes that can be used to study both gastrointestinal and neural tissues, allowing researchers to study the close relationship between the gut and the brain. These probes contain microfluid channels as well. This allows researchers to deliver drugs to these tissues to test their effect. These channels also allow researchers to administer light sources to tissue as a way of performing optogenetic manipulation of cells in a tissue sample. This allows researchers to manipulate gut cells, for example, and study how these cells shape responses in the brain.
But because these responses happen in a fraction of a second, researchers needed a unique device that could capture these responses. Because there was not a device that existed that could do this work, the team had to create something new.
To date, researchers have shown that stimulating gut tissue in mice can actually influence their behavior. Their findings support the idea that there is a robust connection between the brain and the gut, and could lead to new ways to addressing behaviors through the gut in less invasive ways.
Sources: Medgadget; Nature Biotechnology; Integrative Medicine
