Research suggests association between gut bacteria and emotion

FINDINGSResearchers have identified gut microbiota that interact with brain regions associated with mood and behavior.  This may be the first time that behavioral and neurobiological differences associated with microbial composition in healthy humans have been identified.BACKGROUNDBrain-gut-microbiota interactions may play an important role in human health and behavior. Previous research suggests that microbiota, a community of microorganisms in the gut, can influence behavior and emotion. Rodent models have demonstrated the effects of gut microbiota on emotional and social behaviors, such as anxiety and depression. There is, however, little evidence of this in humans.For this study the researchers sought to identify brain and behavioral characteristics of healthy women clustered by gut microbiota profiles.METHODForty women supplied fecal samples for profiling, and magnetic resonance images were taken of their brains as they viewed images of individuals, activities or things that evoked emotional responses. The women were divided by their gut bacteria composition into two groups: 33 had more of a bacterium called Bacteroides; the remaining seven had more of the Prevotella bacteria. The Bacteroides group showed greater thickness of the gray matter in the frontal cortex and insula, brain regions involved with complex processing of information. They also had larger volumes of the hippocampus, a region involved in memory processing. The Prevotella group, by contrast, showed more...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news