Spotlight Live: The Microbiome & the Brain - A New State of Mind

Published9 Jan 2015
Reviewed9 Jan 2015
Source The Kavli Foundation

On January 15, 2015, neuroscientist Christopher Lowry discussed the emerging science that's connecting the microbiome – the community of microbes that inhabit the body – with brain health, including whether we can treat common brain disorders through the gut.

About the Participants

Christopher Lowry is an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder and director of the Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Laboratory. Lowry is developing new strategies to prevent and treat anxiety and depression, including the use of beneficial microbes that live in the gut.
Linday Borthwick (moderator) has been working as a science journalist for more than a decade and holds a Master’s degree in neuroscience.

Your Questions:

Do we know which particular species/community are important for brain health? (2:40)
Is it likely that other organisms besides bacteria are also important to the microbiome? (5:25)
What prompted you to study bacteria and their interaction with our nervous system? (7:20)
How did the behavior of mice change in your experiment? (8:50)
How do these microbes communicate with the nervous system? (10:40)
Have there been human trials to test microbiome treatments? (17:30)
How far are we from treating brain disorders with probiotics? (19:30)
Can the microbiome effect our brain development? (20:45)
Could destruction to the microbiome cause neurological issues? (22:45)
How have you changed your lifestyle throughout your research? (24:10)
What kind of research is being done to study the average/optimal microbiome? (28:00)