# Gastric Electrical Slow Wave Functional MRI of the Human Brain

> **NIH NIH R21** · HUGO W. MOSER RES INST KENNEDY KRIEGER · 2020 · $445,924

## Abstract

Gastric Electrical Slow Wave Functional MRI of the Human Brain
“Resting-state” fMRI (rsfMRI) is a noninvasive neuroimaging method that uses MRI acquisitions optimized for
monitoring hemodynamic sequelae of task-evoked changes in brain activity (blood oxygenation level
dependent or BOLD, task-fMRI) to observe activity in the brain “at rest”. The resulting MRI data manifest what
are generally regarded as spontaneous fluctuations in intrinsic brain networks, allowing study of functional
connectivity. Such phenomena may offer novel biomarkers for clinical populations, if they can be assessed
without interference from other MRI effects and physiological phenomena. A recent report combining
concurrent surface electrogastrography (EGG) and rsfMRI shows that the electrical slow wave (normogastric
period of about 20 seconds), generated by interstitial cells of Cajal in the stomach, appears to drive activity in a
brain “gastric network” including somato-motor cortices, dorsal precuneus, and the extrastriate body area. This
observation that significant brain activity is not “spontaneous” in the sense of originating in the brain, but rather
is driven by a “pacemaker” in the stomach, can be seen in two complementary ways: Either as a nuisance that
confounds rsfMRI – suggesting the goal of modeling and reducing these effects – or as introducing a new
technology for study of the embodied brain – suggesting the complementary goal of exploiting these effects.
We will pursue three aims: 1. Estimate and reduce contributions of the slow gastric rhythm to established
rsfMRI metrics. 2. Demonstrate whether controlling gastric state – fasted vs. fed – can reduce the impact of the
gastric rhythm on established rsfMRI metrics. 3. Characterize the effects of gastric rhythm and state on the
gastric network, and other brain regions. Accounting for brain activity driven by the basal gastric rhythm will
enhance the ability to study spontaneous fluctuations in the brain's intrinsic networks, by allowing for the
modeling of hitherto unexplained variability. Controlling gastric state has the potential to improve statistical
power by reducing inter-session and inter-subject variance. Characterizing the effects of gastric rhythm and
state on the brain will yield new measures of stomach/brain interactions, that could lead to novel studies in
eating disorders ranging from anorexia to obesity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10039901
- **Project number:** 1R21EB030009-01
- **Recipient organization:** HUGO W. MOSER RES INST KENNEDY KRIEGER
- **Principal Investigator:** JAMES J. PEKAR
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $445,924
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10039901

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10039901, Gastric Electrical Slow Wave Functional MRI of the Human Brain (1R21EB030009-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10039901. Licensed CC0.

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