Bloom Science

Our bodies are home to trillions of microbes that impact our health. We’re comprised of around ten times more microbial cells than human cells, and advancing research is uncovering the role that these microbes play in regulating brain behavior, development and function.

The gut-immune-brain axis is a multi-directional signaling link between the microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract, the immune system, and the brain. Complex pathways of the resident microbes and host systems interact to drive function in the cognitive and emotional centers in the brain. Microbes modulate neuroinflammation as well as host levels of neuroactive molecules, including neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, that affect complex behaviors, such as social, communicative, emotional, and anxiety-like behaviors.

There is increasing data to understand how the gut microbiota influences and contributes to the pathogenesis of many neurological disorders. In many cases, alterations in the microbial communities that inhabit us or microbial dysbiosis, are further implicated in a variety of neurological disorders, including epilepsy, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, dementia, and Alzheimer’s.