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   Could Gut Microbes Help Us Treat Brain Disorders? Mounting Research Tightens   
   Their Connection with the Brain    
      
   The community of microbes that inhabits the body, known as the microbiome, has   
   a powerful influence on the brain and may offer a pathway to new therapies for   
   psychiatric and neurological disorders, according to researchers.    
      
   Released: 8-Jan-2015 12:00 PM EST    
   Source Newsroom: Kavli Foundation    
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   Newswise -- The trillions of microbes that inhabit the human body,   
   collectively called the microbiome, are estimated to weigh two to six   
   pounds--up to twice the weight of the average human brain. Most of them live   
   in the gut and intestines, where they    
   help us to digest food, synthesize vitamins and ward off infection. But recent   
   research on the microbiome has shown that its influence extends far beyond the   
   gut, all the way to the brain.    
   Over the past 10 years, studies have linked the gut microbiome to a range of   
   complex behaviors, such as mood and emotion, and appetite and satiety. Not   
   only does the gut microbiome appear to help maintain brain function but it may   
   also influence the risk    
   of psychiatric and neurological disorders, including anxiety, depression and   
   autism.    
   Three researchers at the forefront of this emerging field recently discussed   
   the microbiome-brain connection with The Kavli Foundation.    
   "The big question right now is how the microbiome exerts its effects on the   
   brain," said Christopher Lowry, Associate Professor of Integrative Physiology   
   at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Lowry is studying whether beneficial   
   microbes can be used to    
   treat or prevent stress-related psychiatric conditions, including anxiety and   
   depression.    
   One surprising way in which the microbiome influences the brain is during   
   development. Tracy Bale, Professor of Neuroscience at the School of Veterinary   
   Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and her team have found that the   
   microbiome in mice is    
   sensitive to stress and that stress-induced changes to a mother's microbiome   
   are passed on to her baby and alter the way her baby's brain develops.    
   "There are key developmental windows when the brain is more vulnerable because   
   it's setting itself up to respond to the world around it," said Bale, who has   
   done pioneering research into the effects of maternal stress on the brain.   
   "So, if mom's    
   microbial ecosystem changes--due to infection, stress or diet, for   
   example--her newborn's gut microbiome will change too, and that can have a   
   lifetime effect."    
   Sarkis Mazmanian, Louis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology at the   
   California Institute of Technology, is exploring the link between gut   
   bacteria, gastrointestinal disease and autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder.   
   He has discovered that the gut    
   microbiome communicates with the brain via molecules that are produced by gut   
   bacteria and then enter the bloodstream. These metabolites are powerful enough   
   to change the behavior of mice.    
   "We've shown, for example, that a metabolite produced by gut bacteria is   
   sufficient to cause behavioral abnormalities associated with autism and with   
   anxiety when it is injected into otherwise healthy mice," said Mazmanian.    
   The work of these three researchers raises the possibility that brain   
   disorders, including anxiety, depression and autism, may be treated through   
   the gut, which is a much easier target for drug delivery than the brain. But   
   there is still much more    
   research to be done to understand the gut-microbiome-brain connection, they   
   said.    
   Mazmanian's lab is also exploring whether the microbiome plays a role in   
   neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.    
   "There are flash bulbs going off in the dark, suggesting that very complex   
   neurodegenerative disorders may be linked to the microbiome. But once again   
   this is very speculative. These seminal findings, the flash bulbs, are only   
   just beginning to    
   illuminate our vision of the gut-microbiome-brain connection," said Mazmanian.    
   To read the full interview, visit: http://www.kavlifoundation.or   
   /science-spotlights/mind-bending-power-bacteria    
   Learn more about the microbiome and the brain by tuning in to a live webcast,   
   hosted by The Kavli Foundation, next Thursday. Christopher Lowry and Sarkis   
   Mazmanian will take your questions on January 15, 2015 starting at 12 pm PDT.   
   Click here for details:   
    http://www.kavlifoundation.org/science-spotlights/spotlight-liv   
   -microbiome-brain-new-state-mind    
      
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