Intestinal microorganisms: they provide communication between the brain and the environment

Recently, the existence of a rich environment from a sensory, motor and social point of view has been proven. Such an environment can have advantages on nervous system human, promoting brain plasticity and cognitive function. However, no one had yet come to discover the task of gut microorganisms
mediate these beneficial effects.

Here is the new study coordinated by the Vittorio Erspamer Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of
Sapienza made this discovery. It has been found that changes caused by an enriched environment compared to normal conditions can affect the intestinal microbiota and its metabolites.

Research has identified bacterial strains and the product of their metabolism as mediators for the benefits of this enriched environment on nervous system plasticity. Knowledge of neurophysiology and metabolomics was needed to obtain the results of the study. The latter is the science that studies the metabolome, that is, the collection of metabolites that participate in the biochemical processes of an organism. Also useful are metagenomics studying microbial communities in their natural environment and finally bioinformatics.

Our work adds two fundamental elements to current knowledge. The first is that the microglial cells, which are the cells of the central nervous system with immune function, form the interface between the environment and the signals coming from the gut microbiota. The second is that the changes in the environment in which we live and the stimuli we receive from them contribute crucially to determining the composition of our microbiota. This research highlights the role of the microbiota, metabolome, innate immune cells and short-chain fatty acids in the communication mechanisms between the brain and the environment and opens the way for new interpretations of this two-way crosstalk.

Cristina Limatola, coordinator of the study