Specific Gut Bacteria Influence Oxytocin Levels

Circulating oxytocin levels decline with age, and a number of research groups have demonstrated that oxytocin upregulation produces benefits in animal studies. Here, researchers provide evidence for a species of bacteria resident in the intestine to contribute to changes in oxytocin expression and secretion. As the balance of different microbial populations of the gut change with age, this might lead to ways to restore more youthful levels of oxytocin in the body via manipulation of the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome, a community of trillions of microbes living in the human intestines, has an increasing reputation for affecting not only gut health but also the health of organs distant from the gut. For most microbes in the intestine, the details of how they can affect other organs remain unclear, but for gut resident bacteria L. reuteri the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into place. Researchers have found that these bacteria reduce gut inflammation in adult humans and rodent models, suppress bone loss in animal models of osteoporosis and in a human clinical trial, promote skin wound healing in mice and humans and improve social behavior in six mouse models of autism spectrum disorder. Of those effects of L. reuteri, the abilities to promote social behavior and wound healing have been shown to require signaling by the hormone oxytocin, but little was known about how this occurs. "Oxytocin is mostly produced in the hypothalamus, a brain region i...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs