Gut Microbiota Interaction with Central Nervous System

The gut microbiota and central nervous system form a dynamic, bidirectional network known as the gut–brain axis, in which intestinal bacteria influence brain development, function and behaviour through neural, endocrine and immune pathways. Microbial metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids modulate synaptic plasticity, neuroinflammation and neurotransmitter synthesis, while barrier integrity in both gut and brain is maintained or disrupted by microbial signals. The vagus nerve provides a rapid conduit for gut-derived cues to reach brainstem nuclei, whereas systemic immune mediators generated in the gut shape microglial activity and blood–brain barrier properties. Dysbiosis, or imbalance in microbial communities, has been implicated in mood disorders, neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Advances in high-throughput sequencing and germ-free models have revealed specific bacterial taxa and molecules that drive gut–CNS communication, opening new avenues for dietary, probiotic and faecal microbiota transplantation interventions to treat neurological disease.

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Gut Microbiota Interaction with Central Nervous System publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in gut microbiota interaction with central nervous system across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Gut–brain axis: The bidirectional communication network linking the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system via neural, endocrine and immune pathways.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs): Metabolic by-products of bacterial fermentation of dietary fibre that modulate host immune function, neuroinflammation and barrier integrity.

Blood–brain barrier (BBB): A selective endothelial interface that regulates passage of molecules between the circulation and the central nervous system.

Dysbiosis: An imbalance in the composition or function of microbial communities that can disrupt host homeostasis and contribute to disease.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT): The therapeutic transfer of stool-derived microbial communities from a healthy donor to a recipient to restore gut microbiome balance.

References

1. Gut liver brain axis in diseases: the implications for therapeutic interventions. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy (2023).
2. Short chain fatty acids: Microbial metabolites for gut-brain axis signalling. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology (2022).
3. A fiber-deprived diet causes cognitive impairment and hippocampal microglia-mediated synaptic loss through the gut microbiota and metabolites. Microbiome (2021).
4. The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids From Gut Microbiota in Gut-Brain Communication. Frontiers in Endocrinology (2020).
5. Impact of microbiota on central nervous system and neurological diseases: the gut-brain axis. Journal of Neuroinflammation (2019).
6. Gut microbes and metabolites as modulators of blood-brain barrier integrity and brain health. Gut Microbes (2019).