Alterations in Colonic Function in Man Under Stress: IV: Hypomotility of the Sigmoid Colon, and its Relationship to the Mechanism of Functional Diarrhea

Summary In 18 patients with irritable colon undergoing kymographic studies of sigmoid motility, a sudden and marked reduction in tone and wavelike motility occurred for periods of 1 to 37 minutes. This pattern was associated with a change in the mood of the subject to one of personal inadequacy, self-reproach, and hopelessness. On 11 occasions in 6 subjects, the pattern coincided exactly with periods of weeping. In one instance studied with tandem balloons, the pattern was observed only in the distal segment. Clinical and experimental evidence is presented, suggesting a link between this phenomenon and the bodily mechanism of diarrhea.