The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer

Author:Emeran Mayer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-05-20T16:00:00+00:00

FIG. 5. THE CLOSE LINK OF THE GUT MICROBIOME-BRAIN AXIS WITH THE EXTERNAL WORLD

The gut-brain axis is not only involved in regulatory loops within the body (immune and endocrine systems) but it is also closely linked to the world around us. The brain responds to various psychosocial influences, whereas the gut and its microbiome respond to what we eat, which medications we take, and to any infectious organisms. The entire system functions like a supercomputer which integrates vast amounts of information from within our bodies and from the outside world we live in, to generate optimal digestive and brain functions.

Because our gut microbiota appear so central to the way we sense emotion, anything that modifies the metabolic activity of the microbiota, including stress, diet, antibiotics, and probiotics, can in principle modulate the development and responsiveness of your emotion-generating circuits. For example, could the geographic differences in emotionality we see in people living in different parts of the world be related to geographic differences in diets and in gut microbial function? If the proposed new theory of emotions is correct, the answer is yes. While future studies are required to confirm such connections, we can say the following: while the basics of emotions could probably still be generated in an imaginary brain in a jar, completely isolated from the gut and the body, such a brain would have a very limited repertoire of emotional experiences. I strongly feel that it is the engagement of the gut, and its microbiome, that plays a major role in determining the intensity, duration, and uniqueness of our emotional feelings.

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