ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the central nervous system actions of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) to influence gastric secretion and gastrointestinal motor activity. It discusses the implications of these findings in the understanding of the mechanisms by which stress alters gastrointestinal function. In fasted dogs, gastrointestinal motility is organized into migrating motor complexes which occur cyclically in the stomach and are propagated to the ileum. Several lines of anatomical and pharmacological evidence also support the possibility that central CRF may be involved in mediating the alterations of gastrointestinal function induced by some stressors. Injection of CRF into the cerebrospinal fluid elicits a pattern of gastrointestinal secretory and motor dysfunction similar to that elicited by certain models of stress. CRF action on gastrointestinal function appears mostly expressed by altering the autonomic nervous system activity. The gastrointestinal secretory and motor responses to central injection of CRF reproduced the effects of elicited by certain stressors.
