title: Psychobiotics and the Manipulation of Bacteria-Gut-Brain Signals.
abstract: Psychobiotics were previously defined as live bacteria (probiotics) which, when ingested, confer mental health benefits through interactions with commensal gut bacteria. We expand this definition to encompass prebiotics, which enhance the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. We review probiotic and prebiotic effects on emotional, cognitive, systemic, and neural variables relevant to health and disease. We discuss gut-brain signalling mechanisms enabling psychobiotic effects, such as metabolite production. Overall, knowledge of how the microbiome responds to exogenous influence remains limited. We tabulate several important research questions and issues, exploration of which will generate both mechanistic insights and facilitate future psychobiotic development. We suggest the definition of psychobiotics be expanded beyond probiotics and prebiotics to include other means of influencing the microbiome.
authors: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK.
authors: Amar
authors: A
authors: Sarkar
authors: Institute of Clinical Medicine/Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland.
authors: Soili M
authors: SM
authors: Lehto
authors: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK.
authors: Siobhán
authors: S
authors: Harty
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors: Timothy G
authors: TG
authors: Dinan
authors: Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors: John F
authors: JF
authors: Cryan
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK. Electronic address: phil.burnet@psych.ox.ac.uk.
authors: Philip W J
authors: PWJ
authors: Burnet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000382:microbiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D064307:Microbiota / Q000502:physiology; D056692:Prebiotics / Q000469:parasitology*; D019936:Probiotics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D056692:Prebiotics
keywords: gut–brain axis; interkingdom signalling; microbiome; microbiota; prebiotics; probiotics