HORMONAL-CONTROL OF DIGESTIVE FUNCTION

The hormonal control of digestive function is a complex process involv ing many hormones which are secreted in response to the arrival of nut rients in the digestive tract. However, it is clear that as our knowle dge of the subject increases the separation between hormone peptides a nd neuropeptides is less and less well defined. Some hormones are rele ased by both endocrine cells and nerve cells in the gut, for example, gastrin and cholecystokinin. Integration between these two systems is probably very important in the control of digestive function. The deve lopment of agonists and antagonists and the study of hormone target ce ll receptors has and will in the future lead to exciting new discoveri es. In conclusion, the hormones which act mainly to stimulate digestiv e function are gastrin, cholecystokinin and secretin while somatostati n, gastric inhibitory polypeptide and pancreatic polypeptide tend to i nhibit or counterbalance the stimulation of digestive processes.