title: [Brain-gut axis dysfunction].
abstract: There is a bidirectional relation between the central nervous system and the digestive tract, i.e., the brain-gut axis. Numerous data argue for a dysfunction of the brain-gut axis in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Visceral hypersensitivity is a marker of IBS as well as of an abnormality of the brain-gut axis. This visceral hypersensitivity is peripheral and/or central in origin and may be the consequence of digestive inflammation or an anomaly of the nociceptive message treatment at the spinal and/or supraspinal level. Stress is involved in the genesis and maintenance of IBS. Disturbances of the autonomic nervous system are observed in IBS as a consequence of brain-gut axis dysfunction. The contribution of the neurosciences, in particular brain imaging techniques, has contributed to the better understanding of IBS physiopathology. The better knowledge of brain-gut axis dysfunction has therapeutic implications, either through drugs and/or cognitive and behavioral therapies.
authors.affiliation: Clinique Universitaire d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie et Stress et Interactions neuro-Digestives, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences (GIN, Centre de Recherche INSERM U836-UJF-CEA-CHU), CHU de Grenoble, BP217, 38043 Grenoble cedex 09, France. BBonaz@chu-grenoble.fr
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bonaz
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sabate
mesh_terms: D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology; D014781:Viscera / Q000294:innervation