In a Q&A interview for the European Parliament, a leading neuroscientist has highlighted how signals between gut bacteria and the brain can influence the behaviour and emotions of mice.

Professor John Cryan, of University College of Cork, Ireland, is the principal investigator of APC Microbiome Ireland, which studies the communities of bacteria naturally found in the gastrointestinal tract – collectively known as the gut microbiome.

In the Q&A for the European Science-Media Hub, he explained how gut bacteria are involved in stress and social behaviours in mice, and how that can help us to understand anxiety or depression in people.

Prof Cryan said: “We are at the beginning of a new way of thinking about mental health management and preventative mental health management through targeting the microbes in the gut.”

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