Cholecystokinin (CCK-8) affects gastric pressure and ratings of hunger and fullness in women.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) may affect food intake by augmenting neural activity from the distended stomach, thereby amplifying satiety signals. To test the hypothesis that subjects would report more fullness and less hunger with gastric distension when CCK-8 (112 ng/min) was infused than when saline was infused, a gastric balloon was inflated in the stomachs of four women. When the balloon was inflated to 500 ml, there was no difference in gastric pressure between the CCK-8 and saline conditions. Nonetheless, ratings of fullness were higher with CCK-8 administration. When the balloon was inflated to the maximum volume tolerated, the pressure rise was significantly smaller with CCK-8 infusion. In addition, fullness ratings rose and hunger ratings declined more steeply in relation to gastric pressure when CCK-8 was infused. In all conditions, gastric contractions were practically abolished with CCK-8 infusion. CCK-8 relaxed the stomach and concurrently sensitized the subjects to gastric pressure.