Is intestinal bacteria the cause of your 'erratic rain' mood?

For the past two decades, scientists have realized that gut bacteria can actually affect a person's mood.

According to New Sciencetist , the discovery process began in 2004 when a researcher at Kyushu University in Japan found that mice lacking intestinal bacteria had abnormal reactions to stress.

Unlike mice in the wild, rats reared in a sterile environment lacked gut bacteria like wild rats. Without bacteria, lab rats are also more vulnerable to germs because there are no healthy bacteria that fight invading bacteria.

Gut bacteria really affect people's mood.

Mice that lack bacteria in their intestines spend less time with other mice and often respond more exaggerated to stress than mice with diverse and healthy bacterial systems. The state of a mouse that lacks intestinal bacteria is like a mouse of depression. However, after the researchers fed the mice a mixture of bacteria-free germs, they developed a normal form of stress response within a few days.

The link between bacteria and mood is called the gut-brain axis .

After this initial study, another study by scientists John Cryan and Ted Dinan of the University of Cork showed that Lactobacillus rhamnosus was effective against anxiety in mice. Mice that have good bacteria in the gut appear to be always more relaxed and relaxed than other mice.

Good intestinal bacteria make us feel more comfortable.

However, in order to link these findings to humans, Cryan and Dinan implanted microorganisms from the stool of a depressed person. The mice implanted with this microorganism developed symptoms like depression. This again proves that the brain-intestinal axis detected in mice has a certain relationship with the human body.

Despite this, scientists have not been able to clarify how the gut-brain axis works. Because the blood-brain barrier prevents cells and molecules from entering the brain, how neurotransmitters made from bacteria, including dopamine and serotonin, can affect the brain.

In 2017, scientists discovered a special group of cells in the intestinal mucosa, helping to detect bacterial neurotransmitters and create a pulse in the vagus nerve, connecting intestine into the brain. Furthermore, there is ample evidence that gut bacteria and their molecules can actually regulate the integrity of the blood-brain barrier and even affect the development of the human brain in 3. first year of life.

Therefore, the amount of human gut bacteria can actually affect how we handle emotions. In another 2017 study by the University of California, concluded that taking probiotics helps improve emotional processing and may even limit some symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The amount of human gut bacteria can actually affect how we handle emotions.

The research team, Kirsten Tillisch, asserts, this study shows a relationship between bacteria and mood, not a cause-effect relationship.

So maybe the mood is affecting the bacteria and not in another way.

To find probiotics based on probiotics, researchers will have to continue to learn more about which bacteria actually inhabit the gut. To do this, scientists had to create a new microbiological technique. A technique called "whole-genome shotgun sequencing" enables them to locate species and subspecies by analyzing genes in a sample taken from the environment.

The team at KU Leuven, Belgium used this method to track all the bacteria in the intestines of more than 1 thousand people. By doing so, the team found that people diagnosed with depression had a sharp drop in Coprococcus and Dialister bacteria in their intestines.

Scientists expect this new method will bring a new perspective on brain health.

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