Barth Bradley B, Shen Xiling
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Room 2141, CIEMAS, 101 Science Drive, Durham, NC, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Room 2167, CIEMAS, 101 Science Drive, Durham, NC, USA.
Brain Res. 2018 Aug 15;1693(Pt B):174-179. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2018.02.038.
The success of neuromodulation therapies, particularly in the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, has been greatly aided by computational, biophysical models. However, treating gastrointestinal disorders with electrical stimulation has been much less explored, partly because the mode of action of such treatments is unclear, and selection of stimulation parameters is often empirical. Progress in gut neuromodulation is limited by the comparative lack of biophysical models capable of simulating neuromodulation of gastrointestinal function. Here, we review the recently developed biophysical models of electrically-active cells in the gastrointestinal system that contribute to motility. Biophysical models are replacing phenomenologically-defined models due to advancements in electrophysiological characterization of key players in the gut: enteric neurons, smooth muscle fibers, and interstitial cells of Cajal. In this review, we explore existing biophysically-defined cellular and network models that contribute to gastrointestinal motility. We focus on recent models that are laying the groundwork for modeling electrical stimulation of the gastrointestinal system. Developing models of gut neuromodulation will improve our mechanistic understanding of these treatments, leading to better parameterization, selectivity, and efficacy of neuromodulation to treat gastrointestinal disorders. Such models may have direct clinical translation to current neuromodulation therapies, such as sacral nerve stimulation.
神经调节疗法的成功，尤其是在大脑、脊髓和周围神经方面，很大程度上得益于计算生物物理模型。然而，用电刺激治疗胃肠道疾病的研究却少得多，部分原因是此类治疗的作用方式尚不清楚，而且刺激参数的选择往往是凭经验的。肠道神经调节的进展受到能够模拟胃肠道功能神经调节的生物物理模型相对匮乏的限制。在此，我们综述了最近开发的有助于胃肠蠕动的胃肠道系统电活动细胞的生物物理模型。由于肠道关键参与者（肠神经元、平滑肌纤维和 Cajal 间质细胞）电生理特征的进展，生物物理模型正在取代现象学定义的模型。在本综述中，我们探讨了有助于胃肠蠕动的现有生物物理定义的细胞和网络模型。我们重点关注为胃肠道系统电刺激建模奠定基础的最新模型。开发肠道神经调节模型将增进我们对这些治疗方法的机制理解，从而实现更好的参数设置、更高的选择性以及神经调节治疗胃肠道疾病的疗效。此类模型可能直接转化应用于当前的神经调节疗法，如骶神经刺激。
