Scientists are trying to understand how microbiota can influence the brain.
Scientists are trying to understand how microbiota can influence the brain. Juan Gaertner/Shutterstock

How do gut microbes influence the brain? And is it possible they could function as psychiatric drugs? The research is still in its infancy, but the idea is one that's gaining traction in the scientific community, reports the New York Times Magazine in a story that will be published in this weekend's print edition.

Micro-organisms in our gut secrete a profound number of chemicals, and researchers ... have found that among those chemicals are the same substances used by our neurons to communicate and regulate mood, like dopamine, serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). These, in turn, appear to play a function in intestinal disorders, which coincide with high levels of major depression and anxiety. Last year, for example, a group in Norway examined feces from 55 people and found certain bacteria were more likely to be associated with depressive patients.

The article notes that "anxiety, depression and several pediatric disorders, including autism and hyperactivity, have been linked with gastrointestinal abnormalities." One researcher speculates: "Is a disease like autism really a disease of the brain or maybe a disease of the gut or some other aspect of physiology?"