Can Probiotics Help Your Brain

I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase, “I’ve got a gut feeling about this,” or have had the sensation of ‘having butterflies in your stomach’ when you’re nervous, or even felt something in your gut when we’ve received bad news.  This is because the gut is lined with a complex web of neurotransmitters which scientists believe can have an effect on our mental state.  Our gut is now being thought of as our second brain!

Scientifically known as the enteric nervous system, this second brain is composed of more than 100 million neurons in the lining of the gut, all the way from the esophagus to anus. It even has more neurons than the spinal cord!

Although the enteric nervous system can’t control logic, movement etc. it does have its own senses and some control of bodily behaviors independent from the brain in our heads.  Equipped with its own reflexes and senses, the second brain can control gut behavior independently of the brain.

Scientists are starting to study this enteric system and the way foods can influence it, with one food in particular; probiotics.

Back in 2007, Vyas and colleagues were studying the behavior of rats infected with the protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii.  They found that although this parasite can infect rats, it could only replicate in cats. And the parasite had found a way of increasing its chances of reaching a cat’s digestive system.  The researchers found that when a rat was infected with this parasite, it lost its natural aversion to cat urine.  So instead of avoiding cats and their territories, the rats actually moved towards them. This in turn increased the likelihood of the rat being eaten by the cat and the Toxoplasma parasite reaching the cat gut, where it can replicate.  In short, a colonizing microbe changed the behavior of its host.

As research begins to clarify the role that gut microbes play in modifying brain function and behavior, the next step will be in figuring out how microbes can be manipulated – by probiotics and other strategies – to correct microbe-associated aberrancies of the central nervous system.

We really could be what we eat.

The study can be found here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22968153