Abstract
Gut microbiota have several beneficial effects on host physiological functions;however, little is known about whether or not such microbes can affect the development of brain plasticity and a subsequent central nervous system response. Recently, accumulating evidence has shown that gut microbiota can affect host stress response and behavioral phenotype. Our previous works using gnotobiotic mice demonstrated that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal reaction to restraint stress was substantially higher in germ-free (GF) mice than in specific pathogen free (SPF) mice. Moreover, GF mice were more active and anxious than EX-GF mice of which microbiota had been reconstituted with normal SPF microbiota. These results thus support the idea that gut microbes affect postnatal development of host stress response and behavioral phenotype.Skin Research, Suppl. 20: 37-41, 2013
