Visceral perception: sensory transduction in visceral afferents and nutrients.

The possible mechanisms that may be involved in nutrient detection in the wall of the gastrointestinal tract are reviewed. There is strong functional and electrophysiological evidence that both intrinsic and extrinsic primary afferent neurones mediate mechano- and chemosensitive responses in the gastrointestinal tract. This review focuses on the extrinsic afferent pathways as these are the ones that convey information to the central nervous system which is clearly necessary for perception to occur.