New advances in gastrointestinal motility research

Gastrointestinal motility is an area of research that has gained renewed interest in recent years. However, it is evident that there still remains much to be learnt and discovered. The chapters in this volume entitled “New Advances in Gastrointestinal Motility Research” result from a meeting which took place at The University of Auckland, New Zealand in October/November 2011 and provide a summary of discussions. Both the meeting and this book were brainchilds of Professor Andrew Pullan. However, Professor Andrew Pullan tragically passed away between the inception and completion of this series. This book not simply dedicated to him and his family but is a reflection of his ideas and work. The 12 remaining chapters of this volume are arranged into 4 broad sections: covering gastrointestinal cellular activity and tissue structure; techniques for measuring, analyzing and visualizing high-resolution extra-cellular recordings; methods for modulating gastric electrical activity as well as sensing the resultant activity using non-invasive bio-electro-magnetic fields; and finally methods for assessing manometric and videographic motility patterns and the application of these data for predicting the flow and mixing behavior of luminal contents by using computational fluid dynamic techniques. As a result, this volume aims to provide both an overview of existing research techniques over a range of research areas as well as to highlight future directions and challenges for the community as a whole.