# Mapping Stomach Autonomic Circuitry and Function for Neuromodulation of Gastric Disorders

> **NIH NIH OT2** · PURDUE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $3,745,989

## Abstract

Two series of complementary experiments, conducted by our exceptionally qualified team of 11 investigators
from eight state-of-the-art laboratories at four institutions, will close critical gaps in the current characterization
of the autonomic connectome controlling stomach function. These proposed synergistic anatomical and
functional investigations will form the needed foundation for neuromodulation protocols that can correct
shortcomings in past, first-generation bioelectronic attempts to ameliorate and monitor gastric disorders.
Building on recent advances in mapping of vagal circuits, many reported by our research team, SA 1 will finish
inventories of the efferent and afferent terminal phenotypes, analyze their collateral specializations, establish
their regional distributions, and identify chemical taxonomies of their target tissues. We will also compare the
neural circuitry of the human (and pig, an ideal large animal preclinical proof-of-principle model) stomach with
that of the rat model to facilitate future translational extrapolations. The analyses of SA 1 will use a suite of
high-definition neural tracing, immunohistochemical and molecular protocols, along with advanced imaging and
morphometric techniques, that our team has adapted to autonomic circuits. SA 1 will focus on those elements
in gastric neural network that may be most relevant to informing SA 2 and identify additional localized sites in
the stomach wall where focal stimulation will have strong therapeutic potential. In functional assessments, SA
2 will identify optimal locations for both highly selective vagal stimulation (VNS) and precise surgical placement
between the exit of the vagus from the brainstem and the target sites of the axons within the stomach wall and
will determine the best stimulation protocols for augmenting gastric physiology. SA 2 will use state-of-the-art
closed-loop stimulator technologies, algorithms, and electrodes (previously designed and robustly proven by
investigators on our research team) and assess the reliability, validity, and stability of the VNS by employing a
battery (≥ 6) of acute, short-term, and long-term non-invasive endpoints. The team will use data archiving and
resource sharing platforms that are universally accessible to all research and medical communities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10216768
- **Project number:** 3OT2OD023847-01S5
- **Recipient organization:** PURDUE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** TERRY L. POWLEY
- **Activity code:** OT2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $3,745,989
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2016-09-24 → 2021-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10216768

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10216768, Mapping Stomach Autonomic Circuitry and Function for Neuromodulation of Gastric Disorders (3OT2OD023847-01S5). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10216768. Licensed CC0.

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