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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

Gastrointestinal Motility Monitor (GIMM)
Published on: December 1, 2010
Structures and pathways of the central nervous system are potentially involved in the serotonergic modulation of
J Sevcík1, P Petrovický, V Růzicka
1Institute of Pharmacology, Prague, Czech Republic. h.sevcik@telecom.cz
Abstract:
The supposed involvement of rat brain regions in the modulation of rat small intestine serotonergic activity was investigated. Small electrolytic lesions were placed in the areas of medulla oblongata and pons Varoli; one week later, changes in the serotonergic response of the intestine were detected. The contractions mediated by the activation of 5-HT2 receptors in the proximal ileum were investigated. The whole ileum segments were cut and placed into the bath. The preparations were contracted by adding increasing concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) (10 nM-1 microM) and noncumulative concentration-response curves (CRCs) were established. The differences between 5-HT responses of preparations from either sham-operated or experimental rats suggest the existence of brainstem regions (dorsal vagal and solitary nuclei, parvocellular reticular nuclei and serotonergic A1,2,5 groups) that either stimulate or inhibit 5-HT modulatory action in the rat gastrointestinal tract.
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