The interaction between motilin, pentagastrin and feeding was investigated during the interdigestive gastric motor state in 4 healthy conscious dogs. We confirmed previous reports that an i.v. infusion of synthetic motilin always induced a pattern precisely like that of the naturally-occurring interdigestive contractions of the stomach. Pentagastrin inhibited the occurrence of the interdigestive contractions at dose between 0.2-1.6 microgram/kg-hr; this inhibition had a dose-related relationship to the occurrence of the motilin-induced contractions. The ingestion of food strongly inhibited the occurrence of not only the natually-occurring contractions but also the motilin-induced contractions in the stomach and changed the motor pattern to the digestive one. These findings strongly support our hypothesis that the interdigestive contractions in the dog are, at least in part, under the control of motilin. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that pentagastrin not always stimulates gastric motor activity but conversely, in the interdigestive state it inhibits movements characteristic of that condition and replaces them with the digestive pattern.