A team of researchers from Cambridge University and Dartmouth College has announced a historic breakthrough: they have created a microscopic electronic implant that, for the first time, makes it possible to record the electrical activity of the Enteric Nervous System (ENS), the gut’s nervous system, in live, freely moving organisms.
This technological advance, published in the journal Nature Communications, will radically improve our understanding of the communication between the brain and the gut, paving the way for entirely new treatments for digestive and neurological disorders.
The Enteric Nervous System (ENS), often referred to as the gut’s “second brain,” plays a critical role in both digestion and numerous neurological processes. However, due to the gut’s constant movement and the dispersed nature of the neurons, accurately studying ENS activity has been practically impossible until now.
The new device is thinner than a strand of hair, soft, and flexible. It is specifically designed to be positioned between the layers of the large intestine, allowing it to record neural signals in real-time and over extended periods.
The microscopic implant has already been successfully tested in rodents and pigs, where it effectively detected the gut’s reactions to various stimuli, physical pressure, and physiological changes.
This new method opens the door to treating diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and gastroparesis through direct medical intervention in the gut.
In the future, scientists hope that the device can be implanted in the gut via a simple outpatient procedure. This will facilitate a better study of the complex gut-brain connection.
