Discussion

Note from the author:

The articles I've explored by Bravo, Heijtz, and others, utilized experimental approaches (a vagotomy and germ free mice) that are not applicable to human subjects or reflective in patient care, individualized medicine, or treatment options. I'm curious of the distinctiveness and separation between microbiology and neurobiological experimental approaches. I've learned there's a much needed crosstalk between microbiology and neuroscience, an integration of one with the other in research.

I'm humbeled from exploring the research of anxiety, the gut-microbiome, and the pathways for communication between the two. Before researching this topic, I thought of anxiety as something that manifested in the brain, from environmental stress or trauma, and had downstream consequences on other parts of physiology. I now understand there's much more than this narrative, as to how gut microbiota can influence brain and behavior. The past decade of research in studying microbiome-interactions has garnered attention, and proven to be influential in what makes us human.