title: Emerging studies of human visceral nociceptors.
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.
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Unit, Kingston General Hospital, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada david.reed@queensu.ca.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Unit, Kingston General Hospital, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Vanner
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009619:Nociceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D059265:Visceral Pain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: dorsal root ganglia neurons; human afferent nerves; irritable bowel syndrome; pain; visceral hyperalgesia