AJP - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, Vol 259, Issue 3 329-G333, Copyright © 1990 by American Physiological Society
Investigations of the migrating motor complex in domestic turkeys
L. R. Mueller, G. E. Duke and O. A. Evanson
Department of Veterinary Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108.
The motor correlate of the migrating myoelectric complex (MMC) was
characterized in domestic turkeys, and feeding state, age, sex, and time of
day were examined as possible factors influencing the motor activity
observed. Strain gauge transducers, and in a few birds Ag-AgCl bipolar
electrodes, were implanted on the caudoventral thin muscle of the muscular
stomach, the duodenum, ileum, cecum, and colon. Contractility was recorded
for 8-10 h per bird on alternating days for 2-3 wk, except in birds
involved in four 24-h recording sessions during a 2-wk period. Intense
motor activity characteristic of phase III of the MMC occurred only in the
ileum; other phases could not be identified. The duration, propagation
velocity, and percent of cyclic motor patterns propagating from one site to
another were similar to those reported in other galliform species. The
occurrence of cyclic motor activity appeared to be related to food
consumption; the number of motor patterns occurring during an intense
feeding session was less than the number observed 1.5-2 h after feeding. In
addition, more motor patterns were recorded in fasted poults during the
light period than in the dark; however, the reverse was observed in
juveniles fed ad libitum. Cyclic motor activity recorded in fasted
18-wk-old birds was of longer duration than that in fasted 8-wk-old birds.
No statistically significant differences were noted in the cyclic motor
patterns of male vs. female poults.
