The microbiota-gut-brain axis: learning from intestinal bacteria?

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not open access:

1. The microbiota-gut-brain axis: learning from intestinal bacteria?

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21296788>

Bercik P.

Gut. 2011 Mar;60(3):288-9

see below

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An autism parent's question:

Would the Germ-Free (GF) mice be like a kid who had multiple rounds of

antibiotics to treat back-to-back ear infections and salmonella in stool?

re: Normal gut microbiota modulates brain development and behavior --- PNAS

http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/3047.full.pdf+html

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from 1:

Conclusion

The concept of a complex microbiota--gut--brain communication is

emerging, where a variety of mechanisms including immune, hormonal and

neural pathways may be involved. The predominant pathways and the

associated behavioural responses may depend on the nature of the

microbiota change, infection or probiotic employed.

This is an exciting time in gastroenterology as we start to appreciate

the role of the intestinal microbiota not only in the pathogenesis of

chronic gut diseases, but also in determining host function and

homeostasis beyond the gastrointestinal tract. The availability of

molecular techniques such as deep sequencing, meta-transcriptomes and

metabolomics will rapidly expand our knowledge, as it relates not only

to the composition and structure of the intestinal microbiota but also

to the complexity of interactions between microbiota components and

the host. Future studies will shed light on the role that diet,

stress, physical activity and other environmental factors can exert on

the stability and quality of the intestinal microbiota, and its

effects on host health and disease. Hand in hand with the results of

human studies, the use of gnotobiotic tools and animal models with

simplified and well-controlled intestinal microbiota will be critical

for dissecting the complex interactions and pathways involved in

microbiota--gut--brain axis communication.

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