BOSTON — Trillions of bacteria occupy the human gastrointestinal tract. Could some of them have an effect on mood? New research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital suggests that seems to be the case.
In their study, two hundred women filled out surveys on mood -- measuring negative and positive emotions over the preceding thirty days. Three months later, researchers tested their gut bacteria. They found that women who expressed positive emotions on the surveys had lower levels of two bacteria: Firmicutes and Ruminococcaceae. Those same two bacteria were found at higher levels in women expressing negativity.
The study is published in Psychological Medicine.
“For the emotion data we only had one-time point,” said Shanlin Ke, Ph.D., a research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “(But) we actually know the emotion data is quite stable.”
What’s not clear is how mood impinges on the microbiome -- or whether it’s the other way around -- with the microbiome determining mood?
And while food certainly plays a role in the microbiome, Ke said, this research did not consider diet.
Finally, it’s not known whether these findings apply to men.
“We are not sure if our study can be replicated in another population,” Ke said. “Like in males or another age stage in women. We need further study to test that.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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