Australian Rotary Health/Ten Island Tassie Tag Along Tour PhD Scholarship recipient Amelia McGuinness has recently published findings from a large systematic review that reveal links between gut bacteria and mental health.

The review was part of Ms McGuinness’s PhD research in gut microbiota and mental health with hopes to reveal how gut bacteria can influence mental health. This review brought together all the findings that had been published across the world to find patterns and signatures that might help us understand how gut bacteria are linked to mental health.

The focus of this review was on those with mental disorders such as depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia and their gut bacteria when compared to healthy people.

The findings showed that important bacteria used to produce chemicals to maintain gut health and healthy immune systems were much lower in people with mental disorders.

Additionally, bacteria that produce neurotransmitters, chemical transmitters responsible for sending messages through the body, were also found to be lower suggesting ways gut bacteria can influence mental health.

The review holds potential to inform possible clinical trials of new treatments in the future that target the gut microbiome for mental disorders.

Ms McGuinness has published her findings in the Nature Journal Molecular Psychiatry with another four articles currently under review.

We look forward to hearing more about Ms McGuinness’s research.

Media contact: [email protected]    First published 13th April 2023