Functional esophageal disorders are a class of gastrointestinal

disorders where no organic abnormality explaining the symptoms can

be identified. This disconnect between symptom perception and

physiological abnormalities results in adverse disease outcomes.

Given the impact of psychological processes on the gastrointestinal

tract through the brain-gut axis, research has shifted towards

identifying their potential role in modulating gastrointestinal symptom

perception. Esophageal hypervigilance, defined as increased

attention to esophageal stimuli, is proposed as a key driver of

esophageal symptom generation. However, research to date is

cross-sectional and based on data from self-report measures,

preventing directional, causal, or mechanistic conclusions. Thus,

there is a need for paradigms manipulating and quantifying attention

to esophageal sensations to increase our understanding of

esophageal hypervigilance. My interdisciplinary translational proposal

aims to (1) quantify hypervigilance towards esophageal stimuli and

its impact on intensity perception using novel paradigms, (2) identify

the underlying mechanisms using innovative analysis techniques,

and (3) make an early effort to translate these findings to functional

esophageal disorder patients. This will inform our fundamental

understanding of esophageal hypervigilance as well as identify a

target for novel psychological treatments in this notoriously difficult to

treat patient population