Atropine‐sensitive gastric smooth muscle excitation by mucosal nociceptive stimulation—the involvement of an axon reflex?

Experiments were performed in chloralosed cats where gastric motility was recorded by the "volume method". Mucosal and serosal nociceptive stimulations were accomplished by local heating to 45-52 degrees C. Heating generally elicited gastric relaxations, mainly due to activation of extrinsic inhibitory reflexes, but mucosal heating sometimes caused contractile responses which were resistant to nicotinic and adrenergic blockade. The contractions were, however, blocked by atropine and, further, could not be demonstrated after degeneration of splanchnic afferents. On the basis of these and earlier results it is suggested that the gastric contractions induced by mucosal nociceptive stimulation are due to axon reflexes, conveyed by splanchnic afferents that, possibly via release of substance P, make non-nicotinic reflex contacts with intramural excitatory cholinergic neurons.