Abstract
Coordinated motor activity is required to develop the major functions of the colon, which are: 1-absorption of water, electrolytes, bile salts, short-chain fatty acids and other bacterial metabolites, 2-storage of colonic contents and 3-propulsion of fecal material (Christensen, 1991). Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) generate spontaneous pacemaker currents which are conducted to smooth muscle cells (SMCs) causing rhythmic contractile patterns (Rumessen et al., 1993; Huizinga et al., 1995). Even though in vitro experiments disrupt enteric neural pathways crucial to develop a variety of in vivo colonic motor patterns and rule out any influence of extrinsic innervation, they are useful to better understand the mechanisms underlying colonic motility. Accordingly, the aim of this article is to summarize myogenic and neurogenic activities described in the human colon, hypothesize about how these mechanisms might be related and propose a new concept, enteric motor pattern generators, for this interplay.
Highlights
Specialty section: This article was submitted to Autonomic Neuroscience, a section of the journal Frontiers in Physiology
The aim of this article is to summarize myogenic and neurogenic activities described in the human colon, hypothesize about how these mechanisms might be related and propose a new concept, enteric motor pattern generators, for this interplay
These results demonstrate the presence of a second myogenic pacemaker not dependent on the ICC-submuscular plexus (ICC-SMP) or the enteric nervous system
Summary
Specialty section: This article was submitted to Autonomic Neuroscience, a section of the journal Frontiers in Physiology. The aim of this article is to summarize myogenic and neurogenic activities described in the human colon, hypothesize about how these mechanisms might be related and propose a new concept, enteric motor pattern generators, for this interplay.
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