IBS stress reactivity phenotype is associated with blood transcriptome profiles and microstructural and functional brain changes

Clinical evidence suggests significant interindividual differences in stress reactivity (SR), but biological mechanisms and therapeutic implications of these differences are poorly understood. We aimed to identify the biological basis of increased SR by investigating associations between a psychometric-based phenotype with blood transcriptomics profiles of increased sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation and brain imaging phenotypes in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) participants and healthy controls (HCs).