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How gut microbes could drive brain disorders

Scientists are starting to work out how the gut microbiome can affect brain health. That might lead to better and easier treatments for brain diseases.
  1. Cassandra Willyard

    1. Cassandra Willyard is a science journalist in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Cartoon showing gut bacteria controlling a brain in a video game

Illustration by Fabio Buonocore

In 2006, soon after she launched her own laboratory, neuroscientist Jane Foster discovered something she felt sure would set her field abuzz. She and her team were working with two groups of mice: one with a healthy selection of microorganisms in their guts, and one that lacked a microbiome. They noticed that the mice without gut bacteria seemed less anxious than their healthy equivalents. When placed in a maze with some open paths and some walled-in ones, they preferred the exposed paths. The bacteria in the gut seemed to be influencing their brain and behaviour.

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Nature 590, 22-25 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00260-3

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 08 February 2021: An earlier version of this Feature erroneously located McMaster University in Toronto.

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