爱尔兰科克大学John F. Cryan团队发现微生物群和社会大脑之间的关系。相关论文发表在11月1日出版的《科学》杂志上。

社交能力可以促进互利共赢，例如分工、合作护理和增强免疫力，但社交能力也可以促进负面结果，包括侵略和胁迫。

越来越多的证据表明，共生微生物，特别是栖息在胃肠系统内的微生物群，可能会影响多种动物物种的神经发育和社交行为。宿主与微生物之间的这种关系暗示着宿主-微生物群的相互作用可能已经影响了社会行为的演变。确实，某些物种利用胃肠道微生物群作为促进种间交流的手段。

进一步了解微生物群如何影响自然界中的大脑可能有助于阐明潜在的社会关系的因果机制，并有助于为人类的社会疾病（例如自闭症谱系障碍（ASD））产生新的治疗策略。

Title: Microbiota and the social brain

Author: Eoin Sherwin, Seth R. Bordenstein, John L. Quinn, Timothy G. Dinan, John F. Cryan

Issue&Volume: 2019/11/01

Abstract: Sociability can facilitate mutually beneficial outcomes such as division of labor, cooperative care, and increased immunity, but sociability can also promote negative outcomes, including aggression and coercion. Accumulating evidence suggests that symbiotic microorganisms, specifically the microbiota that reside within the gastrointestinal system, may influence neurodevelopment and programming of social behaviors across diverse animal species. This relationship between host and microbes hints that host-microbiota interactions may have influenced the evolution of social behaviors. Indeed, the gastrointestinal microbiota is used by certain species as a means to facilitate communication among conspecifics. Further understanding of how microbiota influence the brain in nature may be helpful for elucidating the causal mechanisms underlying sociability and for generating new therapeutic strategies for social disorders in humans, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

DOI: 10.1126/science.aar2016

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6465/eaar2016