The Oley Foundation Prokinetic Drugs and Gastrointestinal Motility Paul E. Hyman, MD, Children's Hospital of Orange County, Orange, CA P roper digestion requires coordinated movements of the stomach and intestines to mix food with digestive enzymes, to stir the nutrients so they approach the intestinal wall for absorption into the body, and to propel the intestinal contents through the digestive tract. Gastrointestinal motility is controlled by the nerves and muscles within the gastrointestinal tract. Although the patterns of contraction and relaxation are complex, all the programming necessary for proper digestion is self-contained in the bowel wall. The normal patterns of the nerves and muscles are influenced every day by many factors. Sleeping and waking changes motility, as does exercise.
Emotional distress can also have profound effects on gastrointestinal motility.
Even the food that you eat releases substances into the blood which influence motility. Nerve connections between the brain and the GI tract send messages in both directions. These modify not only GI motility, but also perceptions from the gut. Whether the perceptions feel good or feel bad has important consequences on diet. M otility disorders occur when the nerves in the gastrointestinal tract are missing, immature, or damaged by infections or toxins.