An experimental evaluation of the relationship between hunger and gastric motility

¹ Division of Human Ecology, Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry, New York Hospital—Cornell Medical Center, New York City

Gastric contractions were studied in eight hungry men utilizing three methods of observation: 1) telemetry, employing a type 430 pressure transducer; 2) a gastric tube with a 50-ml balloon; and 3) inflation of a gastric balloon in 25-ml steps over a 20-min period. With telemetry, the observed rate of contraction after a 5-hr fast was 1.17 ± 3.22/hr over a 2-hr observation period. With the balloon, the rate of contraction in these same subjects over the same period was 12.3 ± .699, significantly greater than the rate obtained with the transensor (P < .001). In the balloon-inflation experiments, the rate of contraction observed during the inflation period and for 20 min thereafter was 2.0 ± .62 2 hr after an intramuscular injection of 1 mg glucagon. Rate of contraction 2 hr after a placebo injection was 8.1 ± .91, significantly greater than after glucagon (P < .001). The difference in contraction rate between methods 1 and 2 is ascribed to probable stimulation of contractions by the gastric tube and balloon. Glucagon, a known appetite depressant, markedly reduces the motor response of the stomach to inflation of a balloon 2 hr following intramuscular injection.