Principle Investigator: Rocio Servin-Vences, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology and Hepatology), Northwestern Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

The gut and brain talk to each other all the time. Psychological stress, in particular, causes disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) in 4 out of 10 U.S. adults. Chronic conditions can involve abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation as well as immune dysfunction and disrupted gut motility. The underlying molecular and neuronal reasons for DGBIs are a mystery, even though physicians have known for decades that stress affects the gut, especially for their digestive disease patients. Today, treatments focus mainly on relieving symptoms.

Uncovering how stress disrupts gut-brain communication could inspire new therapies that get at the root causes of these disorders. The investigators hypothesize that chronic stress reprograms central and peripheral nervous systems, wreaking havoc on the GI tract. This year’s DHF award will allow Dr. Servin-Vences’ team to study chronic stress in mice to identify that reliably induce gut dysfunction. The investigators will use genetically-engineered mice that express a fluorescent protein only in neurons activated during the stress protocol. Employing state-of-the-art genetic tools, the team hopes to better understand the detailed mechanism between stress and gut function and provide invaluable insight into the impact of stress on patients.