There is a growing body of experimental and clinical evidence to indicate that stress influences gastrointestinal motility. The most common pattern of gastrointestinal motor alterations induced by a variety of different stress factors is that of delayed gastric emptying and accelerated colonic transit. Central administration of corticotrophin releasing factor mimics both of these effects. This ...

Because of the difficulties in developing suitable animal models, the pathogenesis of stress-induced functional gastrointestinal disorders is not well known. Here we applied the communication box technique to induce psychological stress in rats and then examined their gastrointestinal motility. We measured upper and lower gastrointestinal motility induced by acute and chronic psychological stre...

Relaxin has been reported to influence gastrointestinal motility in mice. However, at present, nothing is known about the effects of relaxin on the electrophysiological properties of the gastrointestinal smooth muscle. In the present experiments relaxin, other than influencing the colonic motility pattern, has been shown to act on cell membrane properties. The results of the present study indic...

PL-10.1.AK-15 is an active fragment of a naturally occurring protein first isolated from human gastric juice. Among its other protective effects, PL-10.1.AK-15 has demonstrated a protective effect on the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of PL-10.1.AK-15 on two functional parameters of gastrointestinal function: gastric acid secretion and gastrointes...

Our understanding of the physiology of digestion, absorption, secretion, and motility in the gastrointestinal tract has improved immensely. Today it is well established that the gross functions of the gastrointestinal tract depend on the coordination between the muscles, nerves and hormones. The enteric nervous system (ENS) is involved in most of the physiological and pathophysiological process...

The acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI), huperzine A has been used in the treatment of the cognitive deterioration associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the side-effects of huperzine A associated with increased cholinergic activity, particularly in the gastrointestinal system, are evident. It is not yet known how quickly these side-effects become tolerated; this information woul...