A new study suggested that there might be a link between the gut microbiome and mental ability in mice. Young mice and older mice have different gut microbiomes. Young mice's gut microbiome are also found in mice with better mental health, the opposite is true for the microbiome found in older mice.
This opened up the question as to whether changes in the gut could be causing the age-related mental changes.
And yes, that is exactly what it sounds like. Poop from an old mouse was put into the gut of a young mouse.
Dr David Vauzour, a member of the research team, told Science Daily, "We wanted to see whether transferring gut microbes from older to younger mice could affect parts of the central nervous system associated with ageing."
The tests focused on the mice's anxiety, desire to explore, and memory. After the fecal transplant, the young mice's behavior did change. Dr Vauzour said, "In short, the young mice began to behave like older mice, in terms of their cognitive function."
Researchers even found changes in the mice's brains that made them more similar to older mice!
Our brains and guts communicate far more than we had realized in the past.
There is a nerve called the vagus nerve that connects our guts to our brains. Our gut microbes can even control feelings of fear and anxiety.
The gut microbiome's ability to regulate emotion means that it may play a large role in our mental health. There is some evidence that our guts may even be linked to depression.
Mice, of course, are not people. But it does open up interesting possibilities. Perhaps, fecal transplants will become a common form of therapy.
Would you be willing to have a fecal transplant if it could make you feel more youthful and happy?
h/t: Science Daily
