BNA Event - 15th Dec 2021
Time: 4pm - 5.30pm (GMT)
Online Event
As part of our mission to increase public engagement with neuroscience research, this event is free & open to all.
4PM - Is there a role for the gut-brain axis in improving animal welfare?
Do animals suffer from poor mental health (e.g. depression and anxiety) like humans do? If so, what methods can we use to test this? And what can be done to improve poor mental health if it arises? In this talk I will explore these questions and introduce some of the new methods being used to assess psychological wellbeing in animals. I will present preliminary genetic and cognitive data exploring the possibility for an influence of the gut microbiome on mental health in non-human primates and discuss future avenues for this research.
Dr Emily Bethell, Liverpool John Moores University
4.30 PM - Keynote: Gut Feelings - The Microbiome Gut Brain Axis & Behaviour
The microbiota-gut-brain axis is emerging as a research area of increasing interest for those investigating the biological and physiological basis of neurodevelopmental, age-related and neurodegenerative disorders. The routes of communication between the gut and brain include the vagus nerve, the immune system, tryptophan metabolism, via the enteric nervous system or via microbial metabolites such as short chain fatty acids. Studies in animal models have been key in delineating that neurodevelopment and the programming of an appropriate stress response is dependent on the microbiota. Developmentally, a variety of factors can impact the microbiota in early life including mode of birth delivery, antibiotic exposure, mode of nutritional provision, infection, stress as well as host genetics. Stress can significantly impact the microbiota-gut-brain axis at all stages across the lifespan. Recently, the gut microbiota has also been implicated in a variety of conditions including obesity, autism, schizophrenia, motor neuron disease and Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, animal models have been key in linking the regulation of fundamental brain processes ranging from adult hippocampal neurogenesis to myelination to microglia activation by the microbiome. Finally, studies examining the translation of these effects from animals to humans are currently ongoing. Further studies will focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying such brain effects and developing nutritional and microbial-based intervention strategies.
Professor John Cryan, University College Cork
