Central regulation of intestinal motility by somatostatin and cholecystokinin octapeptide.

When injected continuously into the lateral ventricles of the rat, somatostatin increased the frequency of the migrating myoelectric complexes of the small intestine in a dose-related manner. A significant increase was obtained at a dose as low as 0.066 picomole per minute. In contrast, cholecystokinin octapeptide decreased the frequency of the migrating myoelectric complex of the small intestine or disrupted this pattern when injected into the lateral ventricle at rates of 0.073 to 0.23 picomole per minute. These findings support the hypothesis that somatostatin and cholecystokinin octapeptide act on central nervous system structures that are involved in the control of intestinal motility.