Stress and gastrointestinal motility in animals: a review of the literature (original) (raw)
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Stress and Gastrointestinal Motility in Humans: A Review of the Literature
Neurogastroenterology & Motility, 2008
Clinical observations and uncontrolled single case experiments haue suggested an effpct o f psychological stress on gastrointestinal motility. These observations encouraged a large number of experimental studies focusing on the influence of psychological stress o n gastrointestinal motility. These controlled studies haue shown that different kinds of stressors increase esophageal motor activity and induce secondary (nonpropulsive) esophageal contractions. Cold pressor test and transcutaneous electrical stimulation inhibited gastric emptying, auditory feedback and performance tasks inhibited the occurrence of interdigestive migrating motor complexes, and a noise stressor increased intestinal transit time. Furthermore, psychological stress (psychological stress interview, frustrating cognitive tasks, and anger) and physical stress (cold pressor test) stimulated large-bowel contractions and electrical spiking activity. The present studies give some euidence that patients with functional motility disorders respond differently to stressors as compared to healthy controls. I n spite of these jindings with shortacting stressors, there is no proof that stress has an effect on the mangestation of functional motility disorders. Nevertheless, this does not allow the conclusion that stress does not play any role in the mangestation of motilityrelated gastrointestinal disorders. I n particular, there are no studies on the action of chronic stress o n gastrointestinal motility. Thus further research is needed to elucidate the influence of stress, especially of chronic stress, on gastrointestinal motility.
Stress-Induced Changes in the Gastrointestinal Motor System
Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology, 1999
Several autonomic, hormonal, behavioural and neuropeptidergic bodily responses to stressful stimuli have been described over the past few decades. Both animal models and human paradigms have been explored. It is acknowledged that stress modulates gastrointestinal (GI) motility through central mechanisms including corticotropin-releasing-factor. This process requires the integrity of autonomic neural pathways. It has become evident that the effects of stress on GI motility vary according to the stressful stimulus, its intensity, the animal species under study and the time course of the study. Recent evidence suggests that chronic or possibly permanent changes develop in enteric smooth muscle properties in response to stress. In animals, the most consistent findings include retardation of gastric emptying in response to various stressors; acceleration of gastric emptying upon cold stress, presumably through the secretion of brain thyroglobulin-hormone; acceleration of intestinal trans...
Stress-related alterations of visceral sensation: animal models for irritable bowel syndrome study
Journal of neurogastroenterology and motility, 2011
Stressors of different psychological, physical or immune origin play a critical role in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome participating in symptoms onset, clinical presentation as well as treatment outcome. Experimental stress models applying a variety of acute and chronic exteroceptive or interoceptive stressors have been developed to target different periods throughout the lifespan of animals to assess the vulnerability, the trigger and perpetuating factors determining stress influence on visceral sensitivity and interactions within the brain-gut axis. Recent evidence points towards adequate construct and face validity of experimental models developed with respect to animals' age, sex, strain differences and specific methodological aspects such as non-invasive monitoring of visceromotor response to colorectal distension as being essential in successful identification and evaluation of novel therapeutic targets aimed at reducing stress-related alterations in visce...
Stress effects on gastrointestinal transit in the rat
Gut, 1989
Previous investigations of stress effects on gastric emptying, orocaecal, and colonic transit in rats have produced conflicting results. Here one type of stressor, a 'passive avoidance' situation, was used to investigate its effects on gastric emptying, orocaecal and colonic transit. After the rats had been trained to eat a standard amount of semisolid food, gastric emptying was determined (n=12) by the food remaining in the stomach after various periods of rest, or stress exposure. Orocaecal transit (n=14) was determined by breath hydrogen measurements after the food had been labelled with 1 g lactose. Colonic transit (n=18) was measured as the arrival time of coloured faeces after infusion of a carmine red solution into the caecum through a chronically implanted catheter. The stressor had differential effects on transit through the stomach, small bowel and colon: gastric emptying was delayed (p<005) after stress (t/2=2.66 h after stress, 1.97 h at rest). Orocaecal transit was accelerated (p<005) after stress; transit time decreased from 124.3 min at rest to 86-2 min after stress. Colonic transit was accelerated (p<001) under stress, from 15X5 h to 1X29 h. It is concluded that gastrointestinal transit in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract is differently affected by central nervous stimuli. Address for correspondence Paul Enck. PhD, Unisersits Hospitals. Departnient of Internal Medicine (D), Disision of G(tstroenterologst Moorenstrasse 5 D-4XX) D)usseldorf I. Fed Rep Germans
Increased colonic motility during exposure to a stressful situation
Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 1985
Colonic smooth muscle spike potentials and contractility were recorded during the periods of stress by a bipolar electrode-perfused catheter apparatus placed in the rectosigmoid coion. Healthy subjects and patients with the irritable colon syndrome (ICS) were exposed to three standardized stressful conditions: (i) ice-water immersion, (2) Stroop stimulus differentiation test, and (3) ball sorting. In healthy cont?ols, colonic motility increased after the first "exposure to ice-water immersion (P < 0.05), Stroop test (P < 0.05), or ball sorting. Respiratory frequency also increased Offer exposare to the stressful stimuli. However, repeat exposures to the stress tests did not stimulate colonic motility. An increase in colonic motility occurred in patiehts with the irritable colon syndrome pretreated wit h a placebo after exposure to ice water (P < 0.05); Stroop Test, or ball sorting (P < 0.05). However, after exposure to the stressful situations patients pret?eated with chlordiazepoxide had a diminished increase in colonic motility or in respiratory frequency. These studies suggest: (1) in healthy controls habituation reduces the stress-related increase in colonic motility, and (2) in patients with the irritable colon syndrome, chlordiazepoxide decreases the stress-related increase in colonic motility.
Physiology & Behavior, 1995
and conditioned fear were used to investigate the effects of psychological stress on fasting small intestinal and colonic myoelectric activity and their relation with behaviour in freely moving rats fitted with bipolar electrodes on proximal jejunum and colon. Rats in both novelty and conditioned fear groups spent a 15 min session in a novel box, where only rats in the fear group received unescapable, repeated foot shock (10 × 6 s, 0.5 mA). Behaviour in groups reexposed to the box on day 1 or day 7 indicated a profound difference in emotional state. Conditioned fear rats remained largely immobile, while novelty rats displayed active exploratory behaviour. Behaviour during conditioned fear did not differ significantly between rats reexposed to the box either 1 or 7 days after foot shock, while novelty animals appeared more aroused on day 7. Conditioned fear on day 1 caused a significant increase in colonic spike burst frequency compared to basal values in the home cage. A smaller but significant increase was found in novelty rats. In groups tested after 7 days, both novelty and conditioned fear resulted in small increases in colonic burst frequency that did not differ significantly from each other. No effects were found on the incidence of the fasting jejunal Migrati~Lg Motility Complex. Defecation was see only in conditioned fear rats, but did not differ quantitatively between day 1 and day 7. We conclude that, in the rat, colonic myoelectric spike burst activity is highly responsive to psychological stress, while the fasting pattern of small intestinal activity is more resistant. The behavioural data indicate that the colonic response to stress is determined by the gross emotional impact of the stressor, but may show adaptation at longer intervals after shock conditioning.