We use a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to determine how sensations from the inflamed gut are processed in the spinal cord. Over 60,000 Australians suffer from IBD and debilitating pain is a major symptom. Surprisingly, we know very little about how pain signals originating in the normal or the diseased gut are organised and processed in the central nervous system. Obtaining such information is a necessary first step before we can develop therapies to relieve gut pain.