Despite recent breakthroughs in research, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) lacks a comprehensive mechanistic characterization. While the symptoms of this gastroenterological disorder have been described, the overall assessment of IBS has not led to sufficient treatment and management plans. By moving away from an over-reliance on a symptom-based approach and shifting towards a mechanism-based approach, investigators will be more knowledgeable as they attempt to address the disease. In order to accomplish this, the investigators will work with different patient subgroups, specifically IBS subjects, healthy controls (HCs), and disease control groups such as ulcerative colitis (UC). This will allow for the comparison of significant genetic, social, biological, and neurological findings between subgroups, which will help investigators grasp the differences present in people who suffer from IBS.