Gastric secretion elicited by conditioning in rats

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology Vol. 44; no. 6; pp. 672 - 679
• Main Authors: Caboclo, José Liberato Ferreira, de Assis Cury, Francico, Borin, Aldenis Albanese, Caboclo, Luís Otávio Sales Ferreira, Ribeiro, Maria Fernanda Sales Caboclo, de Freitas, Pedro José, Andersson, Sven
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Colchester Informa UK Ltd 01-01-2009; Taylor & Francis; Informa
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Conditioning; Conditioning (Psychology); emotional factors in peptic disease; etiopathogeny of peptic ulcer; Gastric Acid - secretion; gastric secretion mechanisms; gastrin trophic effect; gastrin vegal release; Gastrins - blood; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; long-term potentiation; Male; Medical sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Other diseases. Semiology; PACUP; parietal cell hyperplasia; Peptic Ulcer - physiopathology; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus; Potentiation; Rat; etiopathogeny of peptic ulcer; Hyperplasia; PACUP; parietal cell hyperplasia; gastrin trophic effect; Mechanism; gastric secretion mechanisms; Gastroduodenal; gastrin vegal release; Gastroenterology; Intestinal disease; Conditioning; Gastric disease; Stomach; Secretion; Rodentia; Peptic ulcer; Oxyntic cell; Long term; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Animal; Gastrin; emotional factors in peptic disease; Digestive diseases; long-term potentiation
• ISSN: 0036-5521; 1502-7708; 1502-7708
• DOI: 10.1080/00365520802588083

Objective. To investigate whether interdigestive gastric acid secretion can be controlled by a possible memory-related cortical mechanism. Material and methods. To evaluate gastric secretion in rats, we used a methodology that allows gastric juice collection in rats in their habitual conditions (without any restraining) by pairing sound as the conditioning stimulus (CS) and food as the unconditioning stimulus (US). The levels of gastric acid secretion under basal conditions and under sound stimulation were recorded and the circulating gastrin levels determined. Results. When the gastric juice was collected in the course of the conditioning procedure, the results showed that under noise stimulation a significant increase in gastric acid secretion occurred after 10 days of conditioning (p<0.01). The significance was definitively demonstrated after 13 days of conditioning (p<0.001). Basal secretions of the conditioned rats reached a significant level after 16 days of conditioning. The levels of noise-stimulated gastric acid secretion were the highest so far described in physiological experiments carried out in rats and there were no significant increases in the circulating gastrin levels. Conclusions. The results point to the important role played by cortical structures in the control of interdigestive gastric acid secretion in rats. If this mechanism is also present in humans, it may be involved in diseases caused by inappropriate gastric acid secretion during the interprandial periods.