Experimental studies on the irritable colon

The Effects of Acetylcholine and Methacholine Upon the Human Colon 1

“…The association of life stress, emotional conflict, and disordered function of the colon has often been observed clinically and has recently been confirmed by experimental observation on man (1,2). Because of the established importance of the autonomic nervous system in the integration of reactions to stress, it has been assumed that the disturbed activity of the colon is directly caused by autonomic stimulation.…”

Psychophysiologie des Eingeweideschmerzes

“…Einer der Pioniere auf dem Gebiet der gastrointestinalen Psychophysiologie war Thomas P.Almy [2], der die Auswirkungen von Emotionen und verschiedenen Laborstressoren auf die gastrointestinalen Funktionen an gesunden Probanden und Patienten mit Reizdarmsyndrom untersuchte. Die vorrangigen Messgrößen waren dabei, neben Verän-derungen der mukosalen Durchblutung, auch Veränderungen der Kontraktionshäufigkeit und -amplitude der Kolonwand [1,2,3] …”

Psychophysiological Disorders of the Gastrointestinal Tract

“…The earliest, and from today's perspective perhaps some of the most interesting, studies of colonic reaction to stress were conducted by Almy and his associates (Almy, 1951;Almy & Tulin, 1947) using medical students without any known abdominal disorders as well as patients reporting IBS symptoms. Almy used both physical and psychological stressors while observing the lower colon endoscopically.…”