Impact of gut microbiome on anxiety

Abstract

The gastrointestinal microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining an individual's health. Although the gastrointestinal microbiome is commonly perceived as facilitating gastrointestinal functions including digestion, current studies demonstrated that it is able to influence one's health in the neurological aspect. Emerging findings show that the gut microbiome is highly correlated with anxiety. Here, this review aims to discuss the interaction between the gut microbiome and anxiety. This review shows the significant role of the gut microbiome in gut-brain communication. To better understand how the gut microbiome influences anxiety, this paper discusses the experimental results of the gut microbiome impacting anxiety behaviourally and neurochemically. In addition, several potential pathways between the gut microbiome and the brain are reviewed to investigate the possible mechanisms behind microbiome-anxiety interaction. These studies together may be crucial for future treatments of anxiety disorders via intervening in the gut microbiome.