“…In the gastrointestinal tract, vagal afferent fibers are responsive to stretch and tension as well as to locally released hormones following the ingestion of food (Berthoud and Powley, 1992, Wang et al, 1997, Phillips and Powley, 2000, Berthoud et al, 2001). Although they are typically not responders to visceral stimuli within the noxious range (Ozaki et al, 1999), previous data from our lab and that of others suggest otherwise. For example, while spinal afferents may be responsible for relaying mechanical nociceptive information, vagal afferents may play more of a predominant role in conveying chemical nociceptive stimuli, thus contributing to disease-related conditions stemming from visceral hyperalgesia (Schuligoi et al, 1998, Michl et al, 2001, Page et al, 2002, Holzer, 2003, Sugiura et al, 2005, Kaddumi and Hubscher, 2007.…”