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Colonic disorders are multifaceted and range from functional chronic constipation, diarrhea, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Clostridium difficile colitis, cancer, Parkinson, to physical trauma such as spinal cord injury. These conditions greatly impact the quality of life of patients and their high prevalence and morbidity costs an estimated $21 billion annually. The proposed multidisciplinary approaches and detailed anatomical and functional mapping of the innervation of the colon will provide critical knowledge in a large animal model and in humans, which is essential for the development of new therapeutic approaches including electroceutic modalities to efficiently treat colonic diseases.

We used MRI to map gastric electrical activation following meal consumption. Manganese ions were used as a surrogate of calcium ions to map the increase of calcium influx, presumably into smooth muscle cells.