Intestinal microflora improves brain function

It has long been known that intestinal microflora affects not only digestive and metabolic processes, but also many other functions of the body, including brain activity. Scientists have already proven that intestinal bacteria directly affect the quality of sleep, help new nerve cells develop, and even improve the course of autism in children. In their new study, specialists studied the possibility of rejuvenating brain structures with the help of bacterial flora.

Rodents took part in the experiments. For two months, scientists delivered feces of young rodents into the intestines of old individuals using a food hose. Thus, the "young" microflora in the appropriate proportions entered the intestines of the "old" mice, as a result of which the behavior of the latter changed significantly. For example, they began to navigate better in the conditions of the labyrinth, their memory and thought processes improved. When the researchers began to study the hippocampus - one of the main brain memory centers - they discovered its obvious rejuvenation, and at the level of the cellular and molecular component. For information, the hippocampus is responsible for the mechanisms of emotion formation, the processes of transition of short-term memory to long-term, as well as for spatial memory, necessary for orientation in space.

However, it should be taken into account that the "young" microflora was launched over the rodents' own usual bacteria. This fact probably influenced the fact that some features of the "old men" remained unchanged - for example, the degree of sociability of the mice during and after the experiment did not change.

The microflora of the digestive tract produces a mass of various substances that directly or indirectly affect the functioning of almost all organs and systems of the body. However, the microbes themselves change their composition and properties under the influence of various molecular impulses. As the body ages, the quality of the microflora changes, the bacterial ratio is redistributed. It is quite possible that a radical change in the microbiome with the introduction of "young" microorganisms will contribute to the rejuvenation of not only brain structures, but also other organs. At the same time, scientists admit that the rejuvenating effect can also be exerted by some specific bacteria, and not the microflora as a whole, so more detailed studies should be carried out in the future. If this assumption is confirmed, then to improve the functioning of the brain, it will be enough to take only the necessary pure bacterial preparation orally. It is also possible that specialists will be able to directly identify the molecule that affects the rejuvenation processes - the very one that is produced by certain representatives of the bacterial flora.

The study was conducted by staff from the University of Cork College. They reported on their achievements in the journal Nature Aging. You can read the article at the link