New discovery about our brain's abilities
Belgian scientists demonstrate that the brain can have an impact on gut bacteria. A discovery that could prove beneficial for the treatment of conditions such as obesity.
Scientists have been aware of the link between the microbiota ‒ the billions of bacteria living in our gut ‒ and the brain for many years. Altering this microbiota through diet affects the brain, as demonstrated in studies on depression and obesity, but the existence of this pattern in reverse was still unknown. However, it appears that the brain can directly modify the bacteria in our gut, as a scientific team from UCLouvain has recently demonstrated.
The study, conducted by Matthias Van Hul in collaboration with Spanish researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona Hospital, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Metabolism.
In concrete terms, these researchers inserted an intracerebral implant with a micro-needle into mice, injecting hormones that have an impact on the activation of appetite zones. These three hormones are ghrelin, which stimulates appetite; GLP-1, which reduces the desire to eat; and leptin, which reflects our fat reserves. By inhibiting and activating appetite neurons on demand, scientists were able to observe changes in the gut microbiota.
Belgian researchers believe that brain-induced changes in microbiota could, once we've eaten or prepared the gut to receive food, subsequently change our eating behaviour.
This study shows that the brain-microbiota axis is crucial for managing obesity and diabetes in the future.