Childhood Trauma can impact our Gut Bacteria

A Columbia University study has found that adversity early in life is associated with increased gastrointestinal symptoms in children that may have an impact on the brain and behavior as they grow to maturity. The study was published online March 28 in the journal Development and Psychopathology.“The #children with a history of early caregiving disruptions had distinctly different #gut #microbiomes from those raised with biological caregivers from birth. Brain scans of all the children also showed that brain activity patterns were correlated with certain bacteria. For example, the children raised by parents had increased gut microbiome #diversity, which is linked to the #prefrontal #cortex, a region of the brain known to help regulate #emotions.“It is too early to say anything conclusive, but our study indicates that adversity-associated changes in the gut microbiome are related to brain function, including differences in the regions of the brain associated with emotional processing,” says Tottenham, an expert in emotional development.”This article has been republished from materials provided by Columbia University. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.Reference: Callaghan, B. L., Fields, A., Gee, D. G., Gabard-Durnam, L., Caldera, C., Humphreys, K. L., … Tottenham, N. (undefined/ed). Mind and gut: Associations between mood and gastrointestinal distress in children exposed to adversity. Development and Psychopathology, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579419000087Full article at https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/childhood-trauma-can-impact-our-gut-bacteria