![]() ![]() Psychophysiological Effects of Psychobiotics This review will: (i) discuss psychobiotic effects on emotional, cognitive, systemic, and central processes in animals and humans, in clinical and healthy populations, and (ii) assess the microbiome–brain signalling mechanisms enabling these effects. The majority of prebiotic compounds examined for their neural effects are fructans and oligosaccharides (comprising three to nine saccharide units). Prebiotics support the growth of intrinsic commensal bacteria. Prebiotics are compounds that, when fermented in the gut, produce specific changes in bacterial composition or activity. Second, we include prebiotics in the definition of psychobiotics. We propose that the definition of psychobiotics be expanded along two dimensions: First, research on healthy individuals is demonstrating that psychobiotic benefits need not be restricted to clinical groups. It should be noted, however, that Gram-positive bacteria are not always beneficial, and some, such as the Clostridia family, may be pathogenic. With the presence of such bacteria, the immune system learns to distinguish to between pro- and anti-inflammatory entities and develops appropriate immunogenic responses by identifying pro-inflammatory elements as antigenic. Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli do not possess pro-inflammatory lipopolysaccharide chains, and so their propagation in the gut does not trigger full-fledged immunological reactions. The bacteria most frequently exploited as probiotics are the Gram-positive Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus families 9, 10. These psychobiotics were first defined as probiotics that, when ingested in appropriate quantities, yield positive psychiatric effects in psychopathology. Here, we critically evaluate efforts to manipulate commensal gut bacteria with psychobiotics. Probiotics, beneficial bacteria that yield positive health outcomes, have received particular attention, both in the popular press and from the research community. Gut bacteria have since been found to participate in the regulation of varied and important physiological processes, including immunomodulation, adiposity, and energy balance 2, 3, 4, 5 as well as the electrophysiological activity of the enteric nervous system 6, 7. This finding revealed the microbiome's causal involvement in the development of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. ![]() The abnormal reactions were reversible through probiotic-induced bacterial recolonisation. A pivotal study found that mice raised in sterile environments and therefore lacking indigenous bacteria (germ-free mice) showed exaggerated physiological reactions to stress compared to normal controls. It is a key node in the bidirectional gut–brain axis (see Glossary) that develops through early colonisation and through which the brain and gut jointly maintain an organism's health. The gut microbiome comprises all microorganisms and their genomes inhabiting the intestinal tract. ![]()
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