Islamabad (Pakistan Point News / Online - 26th January, 2020) Are behavior and the microbiome related?Children receive the first microbes that go on to colonize their gut during birth. Scientists have studied the importance of the many microbial species and identified key roles during infant development.However, the field is only slowly emerging from infancy, and data on other age groups are sparse.Microbiome and caregiver behaviorSharpton and colleagues set out to determine if there are any links between the composition of a child's microbiome and their socioeconomic risk, behavior dysregulation, and the behavior of their parent or caregiver.
"Most studies to date have linked microbiome composition to infant and toddler behaviors, such as extroversion, fear, and cognitive development," he explains."It hasn't been clear, though, that the microbiome associates with other forms of behavioral dysregulation or if it links to the onset of psychiatric disorders and problem behaviors."The team recruited 40 families with children aged 5-7 from a variety of socioeconomic groups. The caregivers filled in questionnaires about the children's behavior and the quality of their relationship.
They also provided a stool sample for the gut microbiome analysis.The team found that children at higher socioeconomic risk had different microbial profiles to their peers at lower socioeconomic risk. However, the role of a child's caregiver was key."These results provide evidence that, in terms of the microbiome's functional potential, caregiver behavior can moderate the associations between socioeconomic risk covariates and the microbiome," they explain in the paper.
Inflammation and high fiber dietsWhen the researchers dug deeper, they identified several bacterial species behind some of these interactions.Specifically, they saw that Bacteroides fragilis was strongly linked with socioeconomic risk and behavioral dysregulation."Interestingly, B. fragilis [was] associated with reduced levels of aggression, anxiety, emotional reactivity, externalizing behavior, and impulsivity, as well as an increase in inhibitory control (i.
e., better mental health)," the authors explain in the paper."Recent psychological research links chronic intestinal inflammation to depression and anxiety. In light of these observations, we hypothesize that the anti-inflammatory properties of Bacteroides may impact intestinal inflammation in children to subsequently influence behavior.""B. fragilis was also associated with lower reported incidents of family turmoil," they continue. "These results are noteworthy because studies in mice have found that B. fragilis modulates the immune system and protects against pathogen-induced inflammation, specifically through the production of polysaccharide A."
