Nick J. Spencer
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View article: Marcello Costa (1940–2024)
Marcello Costa (1940–2024) Open
Marcello Costa (1940–2024) was a leading researcher in neuroscience. He was a lecturer in the School of Medicine at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia for forty-seven years; during this time his research concentrated on the autonom…
View article: Splanchnic and Pelvic Spinal Afferent Pathways Relay Sensory Information From the Mouse Colorectum Into Distinct Brainstem Circuits
Splanchnic and Pelvic Spinal Afferent Pathways Relay Sensory Information From the Mouse Colorectum Into Distinct Brainstem Circuits Open
The distal colon and rectum (colorectum) are innervated by two distinct spinal (splanchnic and pelvic) afferent nerve pathways. This study aimed to identify where the sensory information relayed by splanchnic and pelvic afferents integrate…
View article: Miniature endoscope for high resolution electrophysiological recordings from the colon of live mice
Miniature endoscope for high resolution electrophysiological recordings from the colon of live mice Open
A major weakness in the field of neurogastroenterology research has been lack of technology to determine the spatial and temporal coordination of electrical activity along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in-vivo without requiring a surgica…
View article: Optogenetic activation of the gut-brain axis in freely moving mice using a fully implantable wireless battery-free device
Optogenetic activation of the gut-brain axis in freely moving mice using a fully implantable wireless battery-free device Open
The findings demonstrate that distinct behavioral changes can be induced by wireless activation of the terminal region of the large intestine (distal colon and rectum) in freely moving rodents, using fully implantable battery-free devices.
View article: Synaptic cell adhesion molecule Cdh6 identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility
Synaptic cell adhesion molecule Cdh6 identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility Open
Intrinsic sensory neurons are an essential part of the enteric nervous system (ENS) and play a crucial role in gastrointestinal tract motility and digestion. Neuronal subtypes in the ENS have been distinguished by their electrophysiologica…
View article: Splanchnic and pelvic spinal afferent pathways relay sensory information from the mouse colorectum into distinct brainstem circuits
Splanchnic and pelvic spinal afferent pathways relay sensory information from the mouse colorectum into distinct brainstem circuits Open
This study aimed to identify where the sensory information relayed by the two spinal afferent pathways innervating the distal colon and rectum (colorectum), the splanchnic and pelvic spinal afferent pathways, integrates within the brainste…
View article: Synaptic cell adhesion molecule Cdh6 identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility
Synaptic cell adhesion molecule Cdh6 identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility Open
Intrinsic sensory neurons are an essential part of the enteric nervous system (ENS) and play a crucial role in gastrointestinal tract motility and digestion. Neuronal subtypes in the ENS have been distinguished by their electrophysiologica…
View article: Gut Neuropathies and Intestinal Motility Disorders
Gut Neuropathies and Intestinal Motility Disorders Open
Background The enteric nervous system plays a key role in the coordination of gastrointestinal motility together with sympathetic, parasympathetic, and extrinsic sensory pathways. In some cases, abnormalities in neural activity in these pa…
View article: Peripherally Restricted Activation of Opioid Receptors Influences Anxiety-Related Behaviour and Alters Brain Gene Expression in a Sex-Specific Manner
Peripherally Restricted Activation of Opioid Receptors Influences Anxiety-Related Behaviour and Alters Brain Gene Expression in a Sex-Specific Manner Open
Although effects of stress-induced anxiety on the gastrointestinal tract and enteric nervous system (ENS) are well studied, how ENS dysfunction impacts behaviour is not well understood. We investigated whether ENS modulation alters anxiety…
View article: Piezo1, but not ATP, is required for mechanotransduction by bladder mucosal afferents in cystitis
Piezo1, but not ATP, is required for mechanotransduction by bladder mucosal afferents in cystitis Open
Piezo ion channels play a role in bladder sensation, but the sensory afferent subtypes that utilise Piezo channels have not been fully explored. We made single-unit extracellular recordings from mucosal-projecting bladder afferents in guin…
View article: Synaptic cell adhesion molecule Cdh6 identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility
Synaptic cell adhesion molecule Cdh6 identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility Open
Intrinsic sensory neurons are an essential part of the enteric nervous system (ENS) and play a crucial role in gastrointestinal tract motility and digestion. Neuronal subtypes in the ENS have been distinguished by their electrophysiologica…
View article: Synaptic cell adhesion molecule Cdh6 identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility
Synaptic cell adhesion molecule Cdh6 identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility Open
Intrinsic sensory neurons are an essential part of the enteric nervous system (ENS) and play a crucial role in gastrointestinal tract motility and digestion. Neuronal subtypes in the ENS have been distinguished by their electrophysiologica…
View article: Novel insights into mechanisms of inhibition of colonic motility by loperamide
Novel insights into mechanisms of inhibition of colonic motility by loperamide Open
Background It is well known that opiates slow gastrointestinal (GI) transit, via suppression of enteric cholinergic neurotransmission throughout the GI tract, particularly the large intestine where constipation is commonly induced. It is n…
View article: In Memoriam: Marcello Costa (1940–2024) – a pioneer of the enteric nervous system
In Memoriam: Marcello Costa (1940–2024) – a pioneer of the enteric nervous system Open
It is with sadness that we announce that Marcello Costa, our dear friend and colleague, passed away peacefully at his home in Seacliff (Adelaide, South Australia) on Sunday 14 April 2024. Professor Marcello Costa (AO, FAA) was a pioneer an…
View article: Synaptic cell adhesion molecule <i>Cdh6</i> identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility
Synaptic cell adhesion molecule <i>Cdh6</i> identifies a class of sensory neurons with novel functions in colonic motility Open
Intrinsic sensory neurons are an essential part of the enteric nervous system (ENS) and play a crucial role in gastrointestinal tract motility and digestion. Neuronal subtypes in the ENS have been distinguished by their electrophysiologica…
View article: Tetrodotoxin‐resistant mechanosensitivity and L‐type calcium channel‐mediated spontaneous calcium activity in enteric neurons
Tetrodotoxin‐resistant mechanosensitivity and L‐type calcium channel‐mediated spontaneous calcium activity in enteric neurons Open
Gut motility undergoes a switch from myogenic to neurogenic control in late embryonic development. Here, we report on the electrical events that underlie this transition in the enteric nervous system, using the GCaMP6f reporter in neural c…
View article: Marcello Costa (1940–2024)
Marcello Costa (1940–2024) Open
It is with great sadness that we announce that Marcello Costa, our dear friend and colleague, passed away peacefully at his home in Adelaide on Sunday 14th April 2024, after a long illness. Marcello was born on January 9, 1940 in Turin, It…
View article: Mechanisms underlying the gut–brain communication: How enterochromaffin (EC) cells activate vagal afferent nerve endings in the small intestine
Mechanisms underlying the gut–brain communication: How enterochromaffin (EC) cells activate vagal afferent nerve endings in the small intestine Open
How the gastrointestinal tract communicates with the brain, via sensory nerves, is of significant interest for our understanding of human health and disease. Enterochromaffin (EC) cells in the gut mucosa release a variety of neurochemicals…
View article: Identification of vagal afferent nerve endings in the mouse colon and their spatial relationship with enterochromaffin cells
Identification of vagal afferent nerve endings in the mouse colon and their spatial relationship with enterochromaffin cells Open
Understanding how the gut communicates with the brain, via sensory nerves, is of significant interest to medical science. Enteroendocrine cells (EEC) that line the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract release neurochemicals, including the …
View article: Characterization of viscerofugal neurons in human colon by retrograde tracing and multi-layer immunohistochemistry
Characterization of viscerofugal neurons in human colon by retrograde tracing and multi-layer immunohistochemistry Open
Background and Aims Viscerofugal neurons (VFNs) have cell bodies in the myenteric plexus and axons that project to sympathetic prevertebral ganglia. In animals they activate sympathetic motility reflexes and may modulate glucose metabolism…
View article: TRPV4 is expressed by enteric glia and muscularis macrophages of the colon but does not play a prominent role in colonic motility
TRPV4 is expressed by enteric glia and muscularis macrophages of the colon but does not play a prominent role in colonic motility Open
Background Mechanosensation is an important trigger of physiological processes in the gastrointestinal tract. Aberrant responses to mechanical input are associated with digestive disorders, including visceral hypersensitivity. Transient Re…
View article: From the organ bath to the whole person: a review of human colonic motility
From the organ bath to the whole person: a review of human colonic motility Open
Motor function of the colon is essential for health. Our current understanding of the mechanisms that underlie colonic motility are based upon a range of experimental techniques, including molecular biology, single cell studies, recordings…
View article: Circadian rhythms in colonic function
Circadian rhythms in colonic function Open
A rhythmic expression of clock genes occurs within the cells of multiple organs and tissues throughout the body, termed “peripheral clocks.” Peripheral clocks are subject to entrainment by a multitude of factors, many of which are directly…
View article: Slowed gastrointestinal transit is associated with an altered caecal microbiota in an aged rat model
Slowed gastrointestinal transit is associated with an altered caecal microbiota in an aged rat model Open
Gastrointestinal (GI) motility is largely dependent upon activity within the enteric nervous system (ENS) and is an important part of the digestive process. Dysfunction of the ENS can impair GI motility as is seen in the case of constipati…
View article: Types of Neurons in the Human Colonic Myenteric Plexus Identified by Multilayer Immunohistochemical Coding
Types of Neurons in the Human Colonic Myenteric Plexus Identified by Multilayer Immunohistochemical Coding Open
Using a simple immunohistochemical method, human myenteric neurons were shown to comprise multiple classes based on chemical coding and morphology and dense clusters of axonal varicosities were selectively associated with some classes.