Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2017 Mar 1;81(5):e35-e37.
doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.12.018.

More Than a Gut Feeling: The Implications of the Gut Microbiota in Psychiatry

Pochu Ho  1 , David A Ross  2
Affiliations
Comment

More Than a Gut Feeling: The Implications of the Gut Microbiota in Psychiatry

Pochu Ho et al. Biol Psychiatry. .
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures

The authors report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The gut-brain axis. Gut microbiota communicates with the brain by different mechanisms, including (1) direct activation of the vagus nerve; (2) by producing molecules, such as short-chain fatty acids, that may cause gut epithelium to be “leaky” and then act on a range of other systems; (3) by directly producing or altering the synthesis of neurotransmitters, including serotonin, and; (4) activating immune signaling pathways, including the release of cytokines and other inflammatory molecules. Stress, as signaled via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, is one top-down mechanism that may affect gut microbiota. [Based on data from Cryan and Dinan (10).]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

References

    1. Sherwin E, Sandhu KV, Dinan TG, Cryan JF. May the force be with you: The light and dark sides of the microbiota–gut–brain axis in neuropsychiatry. CNS Drugs. 2016;30:1019–1041. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Slattery J, MacFabe DF, Frye RE. The significance of the enteric microbiome on the development of childhood disease: A review of prebiotic and probiotic therapies in disorders of childhood. Clin Med Insights Pediatr. 2016;10:91–107. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Beaumont W. Experiments and observations on the gastric juice and the physiology of digestion. Plattsburg: F.P. Allen; 1833. - PubMed
    1. Bravo JA, Forsythe P, Chew MV, Escaravage E, Savignaca HM, Dinan TC, et al. Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerve. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108:16050–16055. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yano JM, Yu K, Donaldson GP, Shastri GG, Ann P, Ma L, et al. Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis. Cell. 2015;162:264–276. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types