Is colonic electrical activity a similar phenomena to small-bowel electrical activity?

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate colonic spike bursts regarding 1) their migration behavior, 2) their pressure correlates, and 3) comparing colonic short spike bursts with spike bursts from migrating myoelectric complex from the small bowel. METHODS: Rectosigmoid electromyography and manometry were recorded simultaneously in seven normal volunteers and electromyography alone in five others during two hours of fasting and for two hours after one 2,100-kJ meal. One patient with an ileostomy was also studied by the same method to record the migrating myoelectric complex from the terminal ileum during fasting. RESULTS: Three kinds of spike bursts were observed in the pelvic colon: rhythmic short spike bursts, migrating long spike bursts, and nonmigrating long spike bursts. The meal significantly increased the number of migrating and nomnigrating long spike bursts (from 25 to 38.7 percent of the recording time; P < 0.01). These bursts of potentials showed a peak 15 minutes after the meal, which may be caused by the gastrocolic reflex. Migrating long spike bursts started anywhere along the rectosigmoid and migrated from there aborad 82 percent of the time and orad or in both directions in 10 or 7 percent of the time, respectively. They originated pressure waves 99 percent of the time. Short spike bursts were more frequent before the meal (15.1 percent before and 9.6 percent after the meal), but the difference was not significant; they neither propagated nor initiated pressure waves detected by the miniballoon. CONCLUSIONS: Migrating long spike bursts were the only potentials that migrated, sometimes for short distances. Short spike bursts are a different phenomenon from the small-bowel migrating myoelectric complex because they do not migrate; they can occur during the postprandial period and never originated intraluminal pressure waves.

Efficacy of Bolus Lukewarm Saline and Yoga Postures as Colonoscopy Preparation: A Pilot Study

“…44,45 In human studies, acute aerobic exercise decreased colonic phasic motor activity, resulting in less resistance to colonic flow, while postexercise increased the number and amplitude of propagated waves, which was thought to induce propulsion of stool. 46 Kim et al found that an exercise as simple as walking improved colonoscopy preparation among younger, nonobese patients with no history of abdominal surgery.…”

Transmission of Rectal Electric Waves: Is it through Circular or Longitudinal Smooth Muscle Layers or Both?

“…The mechanism of rectal motility is not yet fully elucidated (Schafer et al, 1996;Cortesini et al, 1995). Electric activity could be recorded from different parts of the gut including the stomach (Kauer et al, 1999;Levanon & Chen, 1998), small (Aube et al, 1999;Medeiros et al, 1997) and large gut (Abo et al, 2000;Julia et al, 1999) and liver (Shafik, 2000). It occurs in the form of slow waves or pacesetter potentials (PPs) and fast activity spikes or action potentials (APs).…”

Relationship Between Colonic Transit Response to Eating With Self-reported Constipation Severity in Constipated Patients According to the Phenotype

“… 4 This increased colonic motor activity results in increased migrating and nonmigrating long spike bursts. 5 …”

“…4 This increased colonic motor activity results in increased migrating and nonmigrating long spike bursts. 5 In recent years, high-resolution colonic manometry has provided greater insight into stationary and propagating colonic motor patterns. [6][7][8] In particular, the colonic response to feeding has shown that the sigmoid colon is the most impacted digestive segment during the phasic motor response of digestion, which consists of peristaltic waves that propel feces distally toward the rectum.…”