Topic: germ-free mice

Memory is essential for behaviour, and it is supported in the brain by neuronal representations formed in the hippocampus and related structures. The gut microbiome can influence the brain and modify complex behaviours through interactions reported by the gut-brain-axis. Perturbations to the composition of the gut microbiome by environmental or genetic factors impact on mood and motivation and may affect memory. The strongest associations between gut microbiota, brain and memory originate from studies in germ-free mice, which are deprived of their microbiome from birth. The absence of microbes

We live in a microbial world with trillions of microbes in and around us helping to digest food and regulating the immune system. Emerging data also suggest the critical influence of the gut microbiota on the brain impacting on behaviour and mental health. For example, the absence of gut microbes in experimentally derived germ-free mice results in impaired behaviours including reduced or complete lack of social interactions. Conversely, supplementation of deficient gut microbiota with probiotics and/or specific bacterial strains can restore social function. Despite a surge in such correlative