The maintenance of gastrointestinal (GI) mucosal integrity depends on the rapid alarm of
protective mechanisms in the face of pending injury. Two populations of extrinsic primary
afferent neurons, vagal and spinal, subserve this goal through different mechanisms. These
sensory neurons react to GI insults by triggering protective autonomic reflexes including the
so-called cholinergic anti-inflammatory reflex. Spinal afferents, in addition, can initiate
protective tissue reactions at the site of assault through release of calcitonin gene-related …