Grant: Project Grant

The human gut is colonized by trillions of bacteria that play a role in human health and disease. Recent animal and human evidence shows that communication between the gut microbiota and the brain has the ability to influence behavior and mood. Although it isn't entirely clear how this happens, there is strong evidence that the stress-response systems are involved. Many of the findings differ by sex. In the current study, we will investigate the role of gut microbiota in mental health outcomes in youth. We will study this relationship during the transition from childhood to youth because this is a period during which 70% of mental health concerns first appear and because there are significant changes in the stress response systems that could be influenced by the gut microbiota. The sample will come from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition study, which has previously collected data on 2200 families and will allow us to select individuals who have either high or low risk for mental health problems. Children will be assessed for mental health, gut microbiota, and stress response systems at 3 equally spaced time points between 8 and 14 years of age. Our aims are to determine the longitudinal association between gut microbiota and mental health, whether the stress response systems mediate this association, and whether findings differ by sex and/or puberty status. This study fills an important gap in knowledge about the ways that gut microbiota may influence mental health outcomes, especially in youth for which there is little microbiota data. Previous studies have shown that manipulating gut microbiota (i.e., through diet) improves emotional and behavioral responses in both typically developing and autistic individuals, suggesting that gut microbiota have broad potential to improve mental health across a range of individuals. This research will help us generate targeted interventions to test the therapeutic value of the gut microbiota for mental health in youth.