Neurobehavioural consequences of the gut microbiota

• Main Author: Martin, Katherine
• Other Authors: Balázs Zoltán Gulyás
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Science::Biological sciences
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/152515
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The discovery that gut microbes modulate mammalian behaviour has prompted a paradigm shift in modern neuroscience. However, the precise mechanisms by which gut microbes regulate the development and function of brain circuits underlying emotive, cognitive and motor behaviour remain largely unknown. The research described in this thesis utilises multiple mouse models, including germ-free, mono-associated, and transgenic mice, combined with molecular, biochemical and behavioural analyses to further characterise and mechanistically understand gut microbiota-brain communication both in early postnatal and adult life. By assessing the modulatory effects of microbes on functional development during the neonatal critical period of development, atypical aspects of sensorimotor development, complex motor skill acquisition and cerebellar gene expression in the GF mouse are revealed. In addition, a novel mechanism underlying gut microbial regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis is identified, which involves engagement of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway by specific microbial metabolites of tryptophan.