Probiotic treatment (Bifidobacterium infantis) affects stress responsivity in male rats after chronic corticosterone exposure.

Probiotic treatment (Bifidobacterium infantis) affects stress responsivity in male rats after chronic corticosterone exposure. Behav Brain Res. 2020 May 30;:112718 Authors: Haas GS, Wang W, Saffar M, Mooney-Leber SM, Brummelte S Abstract Mounting evidence suggests that gut microbiota do not only regulate intestinal function and health, but that they also play a role in mental health via the gut-brain axis. Previous research further suggests that probiotics may have beneficial health effects, but more research is needed to confirm these beneficial effects and better understand the underlying mechanisms and potential sex differences in the response to probiotics. Therefore, the current study investigates the effects of chronic administration of the commercially available probiotic Bifidobacterium infantis (B. infantis) to male and female rats under control or "stressed" conditions. For this, 24 male and 24 female Sprague-Dawley rats were either given daily corticosterone injections (40 mg/kg; to induce depressive-like behavior and a "stressed" condition) or oil injections (controls) together with oral administration of B. infantis or vehicle for 21 days (n = 5-7/group). Animals performed the Open Field Test (OFT) and Forced Swim Test (FST) and several blood samples were collected to investigate basal as well as stress-induced corticosterone levels. Rats were sacrificed on day 22 and their brains sliced and stained with doublecort...
Source: Behavioural Brain Research - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Behav Brain Res Source Type: research