Unraveling the gut-brain connection: The association of microbiota-linked structural brain biomarkers with behavior and mental health.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

The gut microbiota can influence human behavior. However, due to the massive multiple-testing problem, research into the relationship between microbiome ecosystems and the human brain faces drawbacks. This problem arises when attempting to correlate thousands of gut bacteria with thousands of brain voxels.

Methods

We performed brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on 133 participants and applied machine-learning algorithms (Ridge regressions) combined with permutation tests. Using this approach, we were able to correlate specific gut bacterial families with brain MRI signals, circumventing the difficulties of massive multiple testing while considering sex, age, and body mass index as confounding factors.

Results

The relative abundance (RA) of the Selenomona

SUBMITTER: Contreras-Rodriguez O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11488601 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature