How does the gut microbiota affect the brain ?

Here's a quick look at how Prof. Sokol answers this question from his patients

The microbiota acts on the brain through several mechanisms:

• First, there are strong nerve connections between the brain and the gut. These connections go from the brain to the gut, which explains, for example, digestive symptoms in case of stress, but they also go from the gut to the brain. By acting on the intestinal nerve endings, the microbiota can thus modulate brain function.
• The microbiota also produces chemical molecules that are absorbed enter the bloodstream and can reach the brain and exert effects there.
• Finally, the microbiota can act indirectly on the brain by having effects on other human cells, such as gut cells or immune cells, which, in response, will produce molecules that will act on the brain.

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