More links of gut microbiome to the brain
May
20
Pavlov's classical conditioning with dogs. source: Shutterstock
Dr. Strick and his associate Dr. David Levintha, professor of gastroenterology at Pitt, were able to trace the connection of signals between the gut and brain's rostral insula in mice confirming the connection of one's emotional, past experiences and contextual knowledge to the gut.
A January 29, 2020 article on Nature.com points to a couple of studies that suggest there is another connection between our gut microbiome and autism.
John Cryan, a biochemist at University College Cork in Ireland, was among the first researchers to investigate how gut microbes affect social behaviour. In 2014, he reported that germ-free mice — those lacking the typical mix of gut microbes — avoided other mice, shunned new social situations and groomed themselves excessively. “It started to crystallize that the microbiome was involved in many aspects of behaviour,” Cryan says.
Clostridia bacterial pathogens, for instance, generate propionic acid in the gut — a short-chain fatty acid known to disrupt the production of neurotransmitters. Propionic acid also causes autism-like symptoms in rats.
Deficits in beneficial gut bacteria might also affect social brain function. In 2017, Cryan reported that when mice with an autism-like condition had lower levels of Bifidobacterium and Blautia gut bacteria, their guts made less tryptophan and bile acid — compounds needed to produce serotonin3. And children with autism have been consistently found to have lower levels of Veillonellaceae, Coprococcus and Prevotella gut bacteria.
(Source: https://neurosciencenews.com/gut-brain-connection-16416/amp/ , and https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00198-y ).
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