Hyperglycemia slows gastric emptying and increases the intensity of perception of gastric distension during fasting and small intestinal nutrient stimulation. In order to examine the possibility that abnormalities of gastric electrical rhythm may be associated with the effects of hyperglycemia, the gastric electrical rhythm (cutaneous electrogastrogram) and the perception rating scores for upper gastrointestinal sensations (visual analog scale) were examined. Studies were performed during intraduodenal triglyceride infusion in 10 healthy volunteers under euglycemic and hyperglycemic (approximately 15 mmol/liter) conditions. During fasting, hyperglycemia had no effect on either gastric electrical rhythm or sensation. Intraduodenal triglyceride infusion was associated with an increase in bradygastria (<2.4 cpm) during both euglycemia (33 +/- 9%) and hyperglycemia (36 +/- 10%, P < 0.05 vs baseline for each). During intraduodenal triglyceride infusion, tachygastria (>3.6 cpm) was more prevalent during hyperglycemia when compared to euglycemia (25 +/- 10% vs 1 +/- 1%, P < 0.05) and the perception rating scores for nausea and abdominal discomfort were greater during hyperglycemia (P < 0.05 for both). The intensity of nausea correlated with the proportion of time spent in tachygastria (r = 0.64, P < 0.01). These data are consistent with the concept that postprandial upper gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with diabetes mellitus may be modulated by the blood glucose concentration.