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
Review
. 2023 Mar 20;15(6):1496.
doi: 10.3390/nu15061496.

The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: Psychoneuroimmunological Insights

Giuseppe Marano  1 , Marianna Mazza  1 , Francesco Maria Lisci  1 , Michele Ciliberto  1 , Gianandrea Traversi  2 , Georgios Demetrios Kotzalidis  1   3 , Domenico De Berardis  4 , Lucrezia Laterza  5 , Gabriele Sani  1 , Antonio Gasbarrini  6 , Eleonora Gaetani  7
Affiliations
Review

The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: Psychoneuroimmunological Insights

Giuseppe Marano et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

There is growing interest in the role that the intestinal microbiota and the related autoimmune processes may have in the genesis and presentation of some psychiatric diseases. An alteration in the communication of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, which constitutes a communicative model between the central nervous system (CNS) and the gastro-enteric tract, has been identified as one of the possible causes of some psychiatric diseases. The purpose of this narrative review is to describe evidence supporting a role of the gut microbiota in psychiatric diseases and the impact of diet on microbiota and mental health. Change in the composition of the gut microbiota could determine an increase in the permeability of the intestinal barrier, leading to a cytokine storm. This could trigger a systemic inflammatory activation and immune response: this series of events could have repercussions on the release of some neurotransmitters, altering the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and reducing the presence of trophic brain factors. Although gut microbiota and psychiatric disorders seem to be connected, more effort is needed to understand the potential causative mechanisms underlying the interactions between these systems.

Keywords: autoimmunity; brain; gut microbiota; mood; nutrients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Microbiota–Gut–Brain axis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Microbiota–Gut–Brain axis involvement in Psychiatric Disorders.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. González Olmo B.M., Butler M.J., Barrientos R.M. Evolution of the human diet and its impact on gut microbiota, immune responses, and brain health. Nutrients. 2021;13:196. doi: 10.3390/nu13010196. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. García-Bueno B., Caso J.R., Leza J.C. Stress as a neuroinflammatory condition in brain: Damaging and protective mechanisms. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 2008;32:1136–1151. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.04.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tengeler A.C., Kozicz T., Kiliaan A.J. Relationship between diet, the gut microbiota, and brain function. Nutr. Rev. 2018;76:603–617. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuy016. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Du Y., Gao X.R., Peng L., Ge J.F. Crosstalk between the microbiota-gut-brain axis and depression. Heliyon. 2020;6:e04097. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04097. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sekirov I. Gut microbiota in health and disease. Physiol. Rev. 2010;90:859–904. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00045.2009. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources