Constipation and abdominal pain often occur together, but scientists still don't fully understand how the nervous system coordinates movement through the bowel with the sensations arising from inside it.In a new study in mice, scientists have identified a group of neurons that may contribute to both processes. When researchers activated these cells in isolated colons, fecal pellets were more likely to move forward. Activating them in living mice also produced behaviors associated with pain or discomfort.Together, the findings raise the possibility that the same gut neurons may help coordinate how the colon moves its contents and how the body senses what is happening inside it.
"These neurons might directly respond to inflammation." – physician-scientist Daniel Verbaro
The study is available as a bioRxiv preprint and has yet to undergo peer review.The digestive tract contains an extensive network of nerve cells known as the enteric nervous system. Sometimes described as the 'second brain', it helps regulate digestion and coordinate the muscular contractions that propel material through the intestines.A 2025 study published in Nature found that different nutrients activate distinct groups of enteric neurons in mice, providing further evidence that the gut's own nervous system can detect and distinguish signals arising inside the intestine.Yet the enteric nervous system contains many different kinds of neurons, and scientists are still working out what each population does.
