Gut-brain axis

It is becoming increasingly evident that bidirectional signalling exists between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain, often involving the gut microbiota. This relationship, commonly dubbed the gut–brain axis (or the microbiota–gut–brain axis), involves various afferent and efferent pathways such as the vagus nerve and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal pathway to regulate aspects of homeostasis such as satiety and hunger, and inflammation. Disruption of the gut–brain axis has been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of a diverse range of diseases, including Parkinson disease and irritable bowel syndrome. This emerging area of research is evolving quickly.

This collection brings together Research, Reviews and News from across the Nature Research journals covering key aspects of the gut–brain axis including immune, neuroendocrine and neural factors. The selected content has been published within the past 2 years in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Nature, Nature Communications, Nature Immunology, Nature Medicine, Nature Microbiology, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Outlook, Nature Reviews Disease Primers, Nature Reviews Endocrinology, Nature Reviews Microbiology, Nature Reviews Neurology, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Nature Reviews Urology and Scientific Reports.

Articles in the core collection have been made freely available for 6 months (until 11th July 2018), thanks to support from Abbott. The collection content is editorially independent and the sole responsibility of Springer Nature.

Image credit: Laura Marshall