Brain-gut axis

Research continues to shed light on the brain-gut axis. A 2022 study published in Translational Psychiatry showed some promising results for alleviating symptoms of major depressive disorder.^[6]

The study found that short-term, high-dose probiotic supplements were effective when used as an add-on treatment for depression. In this small study, 21 participants received a probiotic supplement for 31 days in addition to their standard treatment.

Compared with the placebo group of 26 participants, the patients who received the probiotic supplement had scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating scale that decreased over time. The probiotic group also had a lower putamen activation response when viewing neutral faces after receiving the supplements, compared with the control group.

“Our results suggest that an add-on probiotic treatment improves depressive symptoms and maintains healthy enterotypes [and] species richness and increases specific health-related bacterial taxa.”

— Schaub, et al., Translational Psychiatry