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Gut microbiota

Intestinal bacteria influence brain activity in healthy humans

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 10, pages 326–327 (2013)Cite this article

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Emerging evidence indicates that the intestinal microbiota influence brain chemistry, development and behaviour in animals. Tillisch and colleagues now show that ingestion of selected probiotics changes brain connectivity and responses to emotional challenge in healthy humans, paving the way for therapeutic exploitation of the microbiome–brain axis for functional gastrointestinal and primary behavioural disorders.

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Figure 1: Intestinal bacteria influence brain activity in healthy humans.

References

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Acknowledgements

The authors are supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and by a grant in aid from the Nestlé Research Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences, Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, 1200 Main Street West, Hamilton, L8N 3ZS, ON, Canada

    Stephen M. Collins & Premsyl Bercik

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  1. Stephen M. Collins
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  2. Premsyl Bercik
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Correspondence to Stephen M. Collins.

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The authors have received a grant for research support from the Nestlé Research Center, Nestlé, Switzerland.

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Collins, S., Bercik, P. Intestinal bacteria influence brain activity in healthy humans. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 10, 326–327 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2013.76

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