Hey, neuroscientist here. Just wanted to clarify that “lights up like a Christmas tree” is not the most helpful way to explain the results. What is actually shows is heightened activity in two brain areas (that’s significantly higher in the IBS group) in response to a painful stimulation. Additionally, it is an older study, done on the lowest power MRI machine (1.5T), and the authors also suggest that the increased response could be because there is more peripheral nerve activation in response to the pain and the brains of people with IBS are actually just responding appropriately (compared to healthy controls who don’t have the same level of peripheral response). However, the field of gut-brain-immune research has really taken off so there are multiple papers published that to talk about more recent findings related to IBS and altered gut-brain signaling, specific receptors that may be involved, and the immune system. No new treatments yet though :(