Migrating spike complex in the small intestine of the fasting cat

1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (4) ◽  
pp. G619-G627
Author(s):  
W. C. De Vos

This study characterizes the migrating spike complex (MSC) in the small intestine of the awake fasting cat and compares the MSC with interdigestive activity in the small intestine of other species. Electrical activity in each of 12 cats with implanted electrodes showed MSCs, bands of spike potentials which attenuated slow-wave frequency and amplitude as the MSCs progressed distally. MSCs occurred at variable frequency with intervals ranging from < 1 min to > 5 h and averaged 51.2 +/- 2.8 (SE) min. MSCs migrated at 1-8 mm/s, accelerating distally; the duration decreased distally such that the length of the bowel in a burst (2-3 cm proximally) was conserved. The MSC was associated with an intense prolonged contraction of duration similar to that of the MSC. Sometimes the MSCs occurred in close association, and when an MSC period was < 5.7 min, the second MSC propagated at a slower rate than the first. Frequently, a brief series of slow wave-associated spikes preceded an MSC. MSCs were not associated with slow waves. The MSC differs in several respects from the migrating myoelectric complex of other laboratory animals and is more appropriately classified in a category that includes giant migrating spikes, prolonged propagated contractions, power contractions, and migrating action potential complexes.

1975 ◽  
Vol 229 (2) ◽  
pp. 484-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
AK Mukhopadhyay ◽  
LR Johnson ◽  
EM Copeland ◽  
NW Weisbrodt

The effect of intravenously administered secretin (0.5, 2.0, 6.0 U/kg-h) and intraduodenal acidification (13.2 meq/h HCl) on the electrical activity of the small bowel of three conscious dogs with gastric and duodenal cannulas was observed. Electrical activity was recorded in fasted as well as fed conditions through silver wire electrodes implanted along the entire length of the small bowel. Intravenous infusion of secretin in all dosages and in all dogs delayed the onset of the interdigestive myoelectric complex and reduced the total percentage of slow waves with superimposed spike potentials. Intraduodenal acidification also inhibited the interdigestive myoelectric complex, which developed incompletely with fewer action potentials on slow waves. Secretin did not produce any alteration in the fed pattern of activity, slow-wave frequency, or the caudal migration of the interdigestive myoelectric complex. The present study indicates that the nuerohumoral mechanisms responsible for initiation of the interdigestive myoelectric complex may be different from those responsible for its caudal migration.


1960 ◽  
Vol 198 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. E. Daniel ◽  
A. J. Honour ◽  
A. Bogoch

The electrical activity of longitudinal muscle cells of the small intestine of the dog have been recorded in vivo using microelectrodes. This activity is characterized by periodic slow depolarizations of from 3 to 15 mv starting from potentials of 35–50 mv. The frequency of these slow depolarizations is less in the ileum than in the jejunum and is diminished by reduction in body temperature. Asphyxia diminishes both frequency and amplitude of these slow depolarizations without affecting the resting potentials. Action potential spikes arise from the larger slow depolarizations. The records obtained in this study are compared with previously recorded monopolar extracellular records. It is concluded that the slow waves recorded using extracellular electrodes arise from slow depolarizations of intestinal muscle cells. It is proposed that these slow depolarizations are a coordinating mechanism for motility of the longitudinal muscle of the dog intestine. The mechanism of synchronization of the slow waves themselves remains to be elucidated.


1977 ◽  
Vol 233 (6) ◽  
pp. E483
Author(s):  
Y Ruckebusch ◽  
L Bueno

The electrical activity of the gastroduodenal junction was recorded in conscious sheep for 8 to 12 wk with chronically implanted electrodes. The flow of digesta was simultaneously recorded, and the duodenal bulb was isolated at the time of implantation. The mean slow-wave frequency of the antrum was 5.6 +/- 0.3/min with spike bursts randomly superimposed on about 60% of the slow waves. The activity of the duodenal bulb was characterized by an absence of slow-wave unpropagated spike bursts and by two types of propagated spike bursts. The first consisted of isolated bursts accompanied by a rapid movement of digesta through the entire duodenum and proximal jejunum. The second, an irregular series of 8-12 spike bursts was associated with total evacuation of the duodenal bulb, followed in turn by an inhibition of antral spiking activity and the development of a migrating myoelectric complex (MMC) in the distal duodenum. The results indicate that in sheep organization of the MMC is located at the duodenal level where the duodenal bulb has a reservoir function.


1960 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 777-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. E. Daniel ◽  
B. T. Wachter ◽  
A. J. Honour ◽  
A. Bogoch

Electrical activity of the small intestine of man and of dogs has been studied using monopolar recording techniques and spread of electrical activity in the small intestine of the dog using a bipolar recording technique. Motility was studied simultaneously. Electrical activity consisted of slow waves and action potentials which occurred when contractions were present. Action potentials were not conducted but slow waves sometimes spread aborally for short distances. Particular attention was paid to the relation of slow waves to action potentials and to motility. No consistent alteration in the frequency or configuration of slow waves was found associated with the occurrence of action potentials and motility, although serotonin or epinephrine altered slow wave frequency slightly. Slow waves usually were increased in amplitude during periods when motility and action potentials were occurring (during eating or balloon propulsion; after the administration of serotonin, neostigmine, physostigmine, or morphine). Slow wave amplitudes usually were diminished when motility was inhibited (by balloon distention; after administration of epinephrine, etc.). Action potentials tended to occur in phase with the slow waves, when the muscle electrode was positive relative to the indifferent electrode, but this was not always so during nonpropulsive contractions. There was also a correlation between the occurrence of distal spread of slow waves over the duodenum and upper jejunum and the ability of the intestine in this region to respond to balloon distention by propulsion.In the dog, body temperature consistently affected slow waves. A decrease of 10 °C diminished their frequencies to less than one-half and diminished their amplitude. Slow waves occurred at similar frequencies and with regular conduction after large doses of nicotine or atropine. Dibenzyline, dichloroisopropyl-norepinephrine, and vagotomy did not markedly alter slow wave frequencies. These findings and those in our studies with microelectrodes indicate that the slow waves are myogenic in origin, and represent electrical currents in the extracellular fluid initiated by periodic depolarizations of muscle cells of the small intestine.


1961 ◽  
Vol 201 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Bortoff

The effects of certain autonomic and metabolic drugs on the electrical activity of the small intestine have been investigated, using the pressure electrode. Epinephrine inhibits spike activity and increases the membrane potential, without apparently altering the size of the slow waves. Acetylcholine has the reverse effect. The hyperpolarization produced by epinephrine is followed by a gradual depolarization which exceeds that of the membrane prior to its addition; this is not accompanied by the reappearance of spike activity. Large concentrations of epinephrine produce a waxing and waning of the amplitude of the slow waves. During inhibition by dinitrophenol, both acetylcholine and epinephrine can initiate slow wave activity. An explanation of naturally occurring waxing and waning is suggested, together with a mechanism relating the activity of the two muscle layers during normal intestinal motility.


1982 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Roche ◽  
Lionel Bueno ◽  
Monique Vagne ◽  
Christian Blourde

1. Bipolar electrodes were permanently implanted on the gastric antrum, and on the different portions of the small intestine of each of eleven healthy adult cats receiving one meal daily. All parts of the feline gut exhibited, as in several other species, regular slow waves and alternate periods of quiescence and electrical spiking activity during the recording sessions lasting from 10 to 30 d.2. Patterns of electrical activity characteristic of this species were identified. Both the amplitude and frequency of the antral slow-wave were related to the presence cf superimposed spike bursts during fasting decrease in the antral slow-wave frequency and increase in the length of the duodenal plateau of slow waves after the daily meal were related to its nature.3. In fasted state, the electrical spiking activity of the small intestine occurred as fused spike bursts of large amplitude potentials migrating slowly over short distances only 24 h after feeding. They are interspersed with short periods of irregular spiking activity.4. These findings suggested that, except the distal part of the small intestine which showed an activity which resembled partially the migrating myoelectric complex observed in other species during the fasting state, the motility patterns of the digestive tract in the cat were not comparable to those observed in the dog or sheep. In the cat, mixing of the contents seemed to result from more or less regular spiking activity allowing their propulsion distally. The propagation over distances varying from 200 to 1000 mm of nine to eighteen daily fused spike bursts in the fasting state remains unclear but they are related to the digestive function in accordance with the displacement aborally of their origin in a prolonged fasting condition.


1960 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 777-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. E. Daniel ◽  
B. T. Wachter ◽  
A. J. Honour ◽  
A. Bogoch

Electrical activity of the small intestine of man and of dogs has been studied using monopolar recording techniques and spread of electrical activity in the small intestine of the dog using a bipolar recording technique. Motility was studied simultaneously. Electrical activity consisted of slow waves and action potentials which occurred when contractions were present. Action potentials were not conducted but slow waves sometimes spread aborally for short distances. Particular attention was paid to the relation of slow waves to action potentials and to motility. No consistent alteration in the frequency or configuration of slow waves was found associated with the occurrence of action potentials and motility, although serotonin or epinephrine altered slow wave frequency slightly. Slow waves usually were increased in amplitude during periods when motility and action potentials were occurring (during eating or balloon propulsion; after the administration of serotonin, neostigmine, physostigmine, or morphine). Slow wave amplitudes usually were diminished when motility was inhibited (by balloon distention; after administration of epinephrine, etc.). Action potentials tended to occur in phase with the slow waves, when the muscle electrode was positive relative to the indifferent electrode, but this was not always so during nonpropulsive contractions. There was also a correlation between the occurrence of distal spread of slow waves over the duodenum and upper jejunum and the ability of the intestine in this region to respond to balloon distention by propulsion.In the dog, body temperature consistently affected slow waves. A decrease of 10 °C diminished their frequencies to less than one-half and diminished their amplitude. Slow waves occurred at similar frequencies and with regular conduction after large doses of nicotine or atropine. Dibenzyline, dichloroisopropyl-norepinephrine, and vagotomy did not markedly alter slow wave frequencies. These findings and those in our studies with microelectrodes indicate that the slow waves are myogenic in origin, and represent electrical currents in the extracellular fluid initiated by periodic depolarizations of muscle cells of the small intestine.


2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (3) ◽  
pp. G439-G448 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Malysz ◽  
Graeme Donnelly ◽  
Jan D. Huizinga

Slow waves determine frequency and propagation characteristics of contractions in the small intestine, yet little is known about mechanisms of slow wave regulation. We propose a role for intracellular Ca2+, inositol 1,4,5,-trisphosphate (IP3)-sensitive Ca2+ release, and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ content in the regulation of slow wave frequency because 1) 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane- N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid-AM, a cytosolic Ca2+ chelator, reduced the frequency or abolished the slow waves; 2) thapsigargin and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), inhibitors of SR Ca2+-ATPase, decreased slow wave frequency; 3) xestospongin C, a reversible, membrane-permeable blocker of IP3-induced Ca2+release, abolished slow wave activity; 4) caffeine and phospholipase C inhibitors (U-73122, neomycin, and 2-nitro-4-carboxyphenyl- N, N-diphenylcarbamate) inhibited slow wave frequency; 5) in the presence of CPA or thapsigargin, stimulation of IP3 synthesis with carbachol, norepinephrine, or phenylephrine acting on α1-adrenoceptors initially increased slow wave frequency but thereafter increased the rate of frequency decline, 6) thimerosal, a sensitizing agent of IP3 receptors increased slow wave frequency, and 7) ryanodine, a selective modulator of Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release, had no effect on slow wave frequency. In summary, these data are consistent with a role of IP3-sensitive Ca2+ release and the rate of SR Ca2+ refilling in regulation of intestinal slow wave frequency.


1980 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. BUENO ◽  
J. FIORAMONTI ◽  
E. GEUX ◽  
Y. RAISSIGUIER

The electrical activity of the gastrointestinal tract and gallbladder was recorded in four sheep fed a Mg-deficient diet during 10 to 15 days. The mitigating effect of intravenous infusions of MgCl2 was tested at the end of the experimental period in animals presenting hypomagnesemia. Motility of the reticulo-rumen remained unchanged in Mg-deficient sheep except that there was no postprandial increased frequency of contractions. By contrast, the contractions of gallbladder, cecum and proximal colon were reduced in both amplitude and frequency. The amplitude but not the frequency of the antro-duodenal slow-waves was reduced. The amplitude of the regular spiking activity of the small intestine was reduced as well as the number of complexes produced per day. The activity of the spiral colon was correlated to the blood magnesium concentrations but Mg infusion was unable to restore immediately the motor profile of the rest of the gut to its intitial level. This was done within 2–3 days by changes in the diet in three of the four animals. It is concluded that the motility of the whole digestive tract, including the reticulo-rumen, is modified on a Mg-deficient diet and that hypomagnesemia, involved in the atony of the spiral colon, is only one of the factors responsible for the hypomotility.


2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (6) ◽  
pp. G1180-G1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail S. Forrest ◽  
Grant W. Hennig ◽  
Sari Jokela-Willis ◽  
Chong Doo Park ◽  
Kenton M. Sanders

Gastric emptying depends on functional coupling of slow waves between the corpus and antrum, to allow slow waves initiated in the gastric corpus to propagate to the pyloric sphincter and generate gastric peristalsis. Functional coupling depends on a frequency gradient where slow waves are generated at higher frequency in the corpus and drive the activity of distal pacemakers. Simultaneous intracellular recording from corpus and antrum was used to characterize the effects of PGE2 on slow waves in the murine stomach. PGE2 increased slow-wave frequency, and this effect was mimicked by EP3, but not by EP2, receptor agonists. Chronotropic effects were due to EP3 receptors expressed by intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal because these effects were not observed in W/W V mice. Although the integrated chronotropic effects of EP3 receptor agonists were deduced from electrophysiological experiments, no clear evidence of functional uncoupling was observed with two-point electrical recording. Gastric peristalsis was also monitored by video imaging and spatiotemporal maps to study the impact of chronotropic agonists on propagating contractions. EP3 receptor agonists increased the frequency of peristaltic contractions and caused ectopic sites of origin and collisions of peristaltic waves. The impact of selective regional application of chronotropic agonists was investigated by use of a partitioned bath. Antral slow waves followed enhanced frequencies induced by stimulation of the corpus, and corpus slow waves followed when slow-wave frequency was elevated in the antrum. This demonstrated reversal of slow-wave propagation with selective antral chronotropic stimulation. These studies demonstrate the impact of chronotropic agonists on regional intrinsic pacemaker frequency and integrated gastric peristalsis.


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