Can the gut microbiome be an important factor in having a baby genius? Well, a new study suggests that gut bacteria could be helpful in the development of a baby’s brain.
The gut microbiome is the collection of trillions of microorganisms that live in your digestive tract. These microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses, play a vital role in your health, from digestion to immunity.
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A healthy gut microbiome is important for a variety of reasons. It aids in digestion by breaking down food and absorbing nutrients and it also aid immunity as it trains your immune system to fight off disease. The gut microbiome has also been known to help with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression as well as playing a role in weight gain and obesity.
So, it should come as little surprise that gut microbiome can also be related to the development of the brain.
The new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found “growing evidence” demonstrating the connection between the microbiota gut-brain axis and neurodevelopment. Microbiota colonization occurs before the maturation of many neural systems and is linked to brain health.
“Infant brain and behavior development is a dynamic and protracted process that starts a few weeks after conception with the formation of the central nervous system (CNS) through processes such as neurulation, neuron migration, and synaptogenesis, among others,” said the researchers.
Before birth all the nervous system structures are formed, although with various degrees of maturation, and development continues postnatally until adulthood when it reaches maturity. The first two years after birth are characterized by rapid changes in the nervous system, such as a significant increase in synaptic growth and subsequent pruning, the proliferation of glial cells (astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes) and increasing myelinization, all which result in the expansion of the infant´s brain to more than double that of its birth size. Coupled with structural growth, functional networks also develop at a great speed during the first years after birth, including auditory, visual, and sensorimotor networks, enabling the emergence of more complex skills
Lead study author Sebastian Hunter, from the University of British Columbia, told The Daily Beast, “Our small pilot study identified potential associations between the microbiome and measurements of early cognitive development.”
