Gut Microbiota Influence on Neurological Disorders

The collection of microorganisms inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract exerts profound effects on the central nervous system through a bidirectional network commonly termed the gut–brain axis. Microbial communities modulate neural development, neurotransmitter synthesis and immune signalling via metabolic products, hormone regulation and direct neural pathways such as the vagus nerve. Dysbiosis—an imbalance in microbiota composition—has been linked to a spectrum of neurological disorders including epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and mood disorders. Key mechanisms involve microbially derived metabolites (for example short-chain fatty acids and tryptophan catabolites) that cross the blood–brain barrier, influence neuroinflammation and alter neuronal excitability. Dietary interventions, antibiotic or probiotic administration and faecal microbiota transplantation have demonstrated the capacity to reshape microbial communities and, in animal models and clinical cohorts, to ameliorate seizures, improve cognitive outcomes and modulate behavioural phenotypes. Emerging omics technologies and causal inference approaches are refining our understanding of specific taxa and functional pathways implicated in disease onset and progression. This rapidly evolving field holds global significance by offering novel biomarkers for disease stratification and promising avenues for precision therapeutics that target microbe–host interactions to benefit neurological health.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Gut Microbiota Influence on Neurological Disorders publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in gut microbiota influence on neurological disorders across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Gut microbiota: The community of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms residing in the gastrointestinal tract.

Gut–brain axis: The bidirectional communication network linking the enteric microbiota, nervous system, endocrine signalling and immune pathways.

Ketogenic diet: A high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate dietary regimen used therapeutically to alter metabolism and microbial composition.

Mendelian randomisation: A genetic epidemiology method that uses inherited genetic variants to assess causal effects of exposures (such as microbial abundance) on disease outcomes.

References

1. Ketogenic diet therapy for pediatric epilepsy is associated with alterations in the human gut microbiome that confer seizure resistance in mice. Cell Reports (2023).
2. Study on the gut microbiota, HPA, and cytokine levels in infantile spasms. Frontiers in Immunology (2024).
3. Roles of gut microbiome in epilepsy risk: A Mendelian randomization study. Frontiers in Microbiology (2023).
4. The role of microbiota-gut-brain axis in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. Pharmacological Research (2021).
5. Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Neurological Disorders. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology (2020).