Todd Coleman: Electrophysiologic monitoring and modulation of the gut-brain axis

Todd Coleman, PhD

Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Stanford University

We will highlight recent technological and methodological advances in deploying miniaturized technologies that can monitor the spatial electrophysiologic patterns of the visceral nervous system and relate them to the electrophysiology of the brain. As an example, we will discuss recent developments of thin, stretchable, wireless biosensor patches that can be embedded within routinely used medical adhesives for recording electrophysiologic patterns of both the brain and the GI tract. We will highlight recent advances in understanding the relationship between the electrophysiology of the GI tract and brain, using phase amplitude coupling analyses during rest and during cognitive tasks. We will illustrate how such systems can also be used in tandem with novel miniaturized pacing devices can enable closed-loop neuromodulation of the gut-brain axis. We will conclude with a summary of the knowns and unknowns in how multi-organ physiology research, technology miniaturization, and data science may create unique opportunities for advancing the frontiers of multi-organ neuroscience