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Source of happiness may lie in your gut
Thursday June 14, 2012 08:44:57 AM,
IANS
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Dublin: Brain levels
of serotonin, the 'happiness hormone' linked to normal functioning
of adult brain, are regulated by the amount of bugs in your gut
during early life, says a new study.
Serotonin, the major chemical involved in the regulation of mood
and emotion, is altered in times of stress, anxiety and
depression, and most clinically effective antidepressant drugs
work by targeting this neurochemical.
Scientists at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at the University
College Cork, Ireland, used a germ-free mouse model to show that
the absence of bugs during early life significantly affected
serotonin concentrations in the brain in adulthood, the journal
Molecular Psychiatry reports.
The research also highlighted that the influence is sex dependent,
with more marked effects in male compared with female rodents,
according to a University College statement.
When the scientists colonised the rodents with bacteria prior to
adulthood, they found that many of the central nervous system
changes, especially those related to serotonin, could not be
reversed - indicating a permanent imprinting of the effects of
absence of gut flora on brain function.
"As a neuroscientist, I find these findings fascinating as they
highlight the important role that gut bacteria play in the
bi-directional communication between the gut and the brain, and
opens up the intriguing opportunity of developing unique
microbial-based strategies for treatment for brain disorders,"
said John F. Cryan, professor of neuroscience and senior study
author at Cork.
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