Natural and Histamine-Induced Gastric Secretion During Waking and Sleeping States

Abstract

Nocturnal hydrochloric acid secretion was studied in 28 healthy young men by continuous gastric aspiration. Twelve subjects were observed during one night only, the other 16 for from two to six nights. The subjects' states of wakefulness or sleep were evaluated by electroencephalography and direct observation, and were categorized as waking, interrupted sleep, and sustained sleep. Histamine or Histalog was injected subcutaneously twice during each night, once during waking and once during sleep. "Natural" HCl secretion rates varied greatly from subject to subject and, in some individuals, also from night to night. There were no correlations between states of sleep or waking with HCl secretory rates, natural or histamine-histalog induced. [This finding is at variance with the authors' observations on an infant with a gastric fistula. The possible reasons for this difference are discussed.]