There is increasing evidence that neuronal and chemical connections between your digestive system and your brain can alter your behavior, and new studies suggest that microbes living in your gut can actually alter your behavior as well. Mice inoculated with gut bacteria from people with diseases like Parkinson’s developed symptoms of those diseases, suggesting a strong connection between your gut and your brain. Chemicals released from microbes can alter your nervous system, and might be a target for new treatments.
Key Takeaways:
- Microbes in the gut of humans can have an impact on how people behave.
- Germ-free mice have shown symptoms of certain diseases just from having microbes from humans and other mice introduced to them.
- Microbes partially influence behavior by releasing chemicals into the bloodstream that influence the brain.
“A paper published by Christine Fülling, Timothy Dinan, and John Cryan in the journal Neuron provides a concise review of this exciting area of science.”