In urethan-anesthetized rats, esophageal distension evoked volume-dependent reflex contractions with phase-locked multiunit discharges in the central subnucleus of the solitary tract complex (NTSC) and the nucleus ambiguus. During blockade of solitarial, but not peripheral, muscarinic cholinoceptors, the volume-response relationship of reflex contractions was shifted rightward with a depression...

Lu, Wei Yang, and Detlef Bieger. Vagal afferent transmission in the NTS mediating reflex responses of the rat esophagus. Am. J. Physiol. 274 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 43): R1436–R1445, 1998.—In urethan-anesthetized rats, esophageal distension evoked volume-dependent reflex contractions with phase-locked multiunit discharges in the central subnucleus of the solitary tract complex (N...

The biomechanical and sensory characteristics of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and those of the striated and smooth muscle portions of the esophagus have not been compared in humans. Our aim was to determine sensory perception, cross-sectional area (CSA), and biomechanical parameters at different levels of the esophagus. We studied 11 healthy volunteers, using impedance planimetry. Inter...

BACKGROUND It is not known which region of the stomach is responsible for symptom generation or whether symptoms induced by gastric distension are region specific. Also, it is unclear whether low level gastric distension has a modulatory role on gastric tone and mechanosensitivity. AIMS To define differences in the sensorimotor response to distension between proximal and distal gastric disten...

Zusammenfassung Abdominelle Blähungen und Distensionen sind häufige klinische Symptome bei gastroenterologischen Patienten, die mit starker Einschränkung der Lebensqualität einhergehen können. Pathophysiologische Mechanismen komplex sehr individuell beinhalten a) eine gestörte abdominelle Akkommodation, d. h. Umverteilung abdominothorakalen Organe Zwerchfelltiefstand Relaxation Bauchwand (Bauch...

Esophageal hypersensitivity is one of the most common causes of noncardiac chest pain in patients. In this study, we investigated whether exposure of the esophagus to acid and other chemical irritants affected activity of thoracic spinal neurons responding to esophageal distension (ED) in rats. Extracellular potentials of single thoracic (T3) spinal neurons were recorded in pentobarbital sodium...

A N infant delivered in a private hospital after 33 weeks’ gestation weighed 2,050 g, had persistent tachypnea, and had associated hypoxia requiring intubation. After three esophageal intubations, the neonate’s trachea was successfully intubated. Despite mechanical ventilation, the infant had persistent tachycardia, hypoxemia (80–90% oxygen saturation) and a distended abdomen. A preoperative ra...

The actions of cholecystokinin (CCK) on gastrointestinal functions occur mainly via paracrine effects on peripheral sensory vagal fibers, which engage vago-vagal brain stem circuits to convey effector responses back to the gastrointestinal tract. Recent evidence suggests, however, that CCK also affects brain stem structures directly. Many electrophysiological studies, including our own, have sh...