Gastric vagal functional distribution in the secretion of gastric acid produced by sweet taste.

The sweet signal pathway relevant to lingual control of gastric acid secretion was examined in bilaterally adrenalectomized rats. The increase in the acid output after lingual glucose application was completely blocked by prior section of both sides of the vagus nerve at the cervical level. However, the reduction in the acid output showed no laterality following vagotomy on either side. At the subdiaphragmatic level, the acid response was mainly suppressed by section of the dorsal vagus trunk. Both sides of trunk vagotomy abolished the acid response. These results suggest that the sweet signal evoking gastric acid secretion has a specific pathway from the tongue to the stomach, and that there is functional laterality in this pathway in the visceral cavity.