Event:

The brain perceives the environment through specialized sensory neuroepithelial circuits. In the tongue, for instance, taste receptor cells transduce chemical signals by synapsing with the glossopharyngeal nerve. In the gut, however, the putative sensory epithelial cell known as the enteroendocrine cell is thought to convey signals to the nerves only through endocrine mechanisms-hence its name.

Here, we unveil a monosynaptic link between gut sensory epithelial cells and vagal nodose neurons. This neuroepithelial circuit is capable of transducing signals from nutrients, such as glucose, within milliseconds, opening a physical path from gut lumen to brain.