Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-ktprf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-09T09:30:59.877Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Increasing reproducibility and interpretability of microbiota-gut-brain studies on human neurocognition and intermediary microbial metabolites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2019

Esther Aarts Open the ORCID record for Esther Aarts [Opens in a new window]  and
Sahar El Aidy Open the ORCID record for Sahar El Aidy [Opens in a new window]
Esther Aarts
Affiliation:
Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. esther.aarts@donders.ru.nlwww.ru.nl/donders/pac/fac
Sahar El Aidy
Affiliation:
Department of Molecular Immunology and Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlandssahar.elaidy@rug.nlhttps://www.rug.nl/research/microbial-physiology/el-aidy-group/
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this commentary, we point to guidelines for performing human neuroimaging studies and their reporting in microbiota-gut-brain (MGB) articles. Moreover, we provide a view on interpretational issues in MGB studies, with a specific focus on gut microbiota–derived metabolites. Thus, extending the target article, we provide recommendations to the field to increase reproducibility and relevance of this type of MGB study.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 42 , 2019 , e61
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Aarts, E., Ederveen, T. H. A., Naaijen, J., Zwiers, M. P., Boekhorst, J., Timmerman, H. M., Smeekens, S. P., Netea, M. G., Buitelaar, J. K., Franke, B., van Hijum, S. A. F. T. & Arias Vasquez, A. (2017) Gut microbiome in ADHD and its relation to neural reward anticipation. PLoS ONE 12(9):e0183509. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183509.Google Scholar
Adair, K. L. & Douglas, A. E. (2017) Making a microbiome: The many determinants of host-associated microbial community composition. Current Opinion in Microbiology 35:23–29. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2016.11.002.Google Scholar
Ahluwalia, V., Wade, J. B., Heuman, D. M., Hammeke, T. A., Sanyal, A. J., Sterling, R. K., Stravitz, R. T., Luketic, V., Siddiqui, M. S., Puri, P., Fuchs, M., Lennon, M. J., Kraft, K. A., Gilles, H., White, M. B., Noble, N. A. & Bajaj, J. S. (2014) Enhancement of functional connectivity, working memory and inhibitory control on multi-modal brain MR imaging with rifaximin in cirrhosis: Implications for the gut-liver-brain axis. Metabolic Brain Disease 29(4):1017–25. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-014-9507-6.Google Scholar
Bagga, D., Aigner, C. S., Reichert, J. L., Cecchetto, C., Fischmeister, F. P. S., Holzer, P., Moissl-Eichinger, C. & Schöpf, V. (2018a) Influence of 4-week multi-strain probiotic administration on resting-state functional connectivity in healthy volunteers. European Journal of Nutrition. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1732-z.Google Scholar
Bagga, D., Reichert, J. L., Koschutnig, K., Aigner, C. S., Holzer, P., Koskinen, K., Moissl-Eichinger, C. & Schopf, V. (2018b) Probiotics drive gut microbiome triggering emotional brain signatures. Gut Microbes 9(6):486–96. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2018.1460015.Google Scholar
Chambers, C. D., Feredoes, E., Muthukumaraswamy, S. D. & Etchells, P. J. (2014) Instead of “playing the game” it is time to change the rules: Registered Reports at AIMS Neuroscience and beyond. AIMS Neuroscience 1(1):4–17.Google Scholar
Dutta, D., Heo, I. & Clevers, H. (2017) Disease modeling in stem cell-derived 3D organoid systems. Trends in Molecular Medicine 23(5):393–410. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2017.02.007.Google Scholar
Editorial (2017) Overcoming hurdles in sharing microbiome data. Nature Microbiology 2(12):1573. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-017-0077-3.Google Scholar
Eklund, A., Nichols, T. E. & Knutsson, H. (2016) Cluster failure: Why fMRI inferences for spatial extent have inflated false-positive rates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 113(28):7900–905. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1602413113.Google Scholar
Forstmeier, W., Wagenmakers, E. J. & Parker, T. H. (2017) Detecting and avoiding likely false-positive findings: A practical guide. Biological Reviews: Cambridge Philosophical Society 92(4):1941–68. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12315.Google Scholar
Lagier, J. C., Dubourg, G., Million, M., Cadoret, F., Bilen, M., Fenollar, F., Levasseur, A., Rolain, J.-M., Fournier, P.-E. & Raoult, D. (2018) Culturing the human microbiota and culturomics. Nature Reviews Microbiology 16:540–50. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-018-0041-0.Google Scholar
Nichols, T. E., Das, S., Eickhoff, S. B., Evans, A. C., Glatard, T., Hanke, M., Kriegeskorte, N., Milham, M. P., Poldrack, R. A., Poline, J.-B., Proal, E., Thirion, B., Van Essen, D. C., White, T. & Yeo, B. T. (2017) Best practices in data analysis and sharing in neuroimaging using MRI. Nature Neuroscience 20(3):299–303. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4500.Google Scholar
Osadchiy, V., Labus, J. S., Gupta, A., Jacobs, J., Ashe-McNalley, C., Hsiao, E. Y. & Mayer, E. A. (2018) Correlation of tryptophan metabolites with connectivity of extended central reward network in healthy subjects. PLoS ONE 13(8):e0201772. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201772.Google Scholar
Pinto-Sanchez, M. I., Hall, G. B., Ghajar, K., Nardelli, A., Bolino, C., Lau, J. T., Martin, F.-P., Cominetti, O., Welsh, C., Rieder, A., Traynor, J., Gregory, C., De Palma, G., Pigrau, M., Ford, A. C., Macri, J., Berger, B., Bergonzelli, G. & Bercik, P. (2017) Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 reduces depression scores and alters brain activity: A pilot study in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology 153(2):448–59.e8. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2017.05.003.Google Scholar
Poldrack, R. A., Fletcher, P. C., Henson, R. N., Worsley, K. J., Brett, M. & Nichols, T. E. (2008) Guidelines for reporting an fMRI study. Neuroimage 40(2):409–14.Google Scholar
Postler, T. S. & Ghosh, S. (2017) Understanding the holobiont: How microbial metabolites affect human health and shape the immune system. Cell Metabolism 26(1):110–30. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2017.05.008.Google Scholar
Tillisch, K., Labus, J., Kilpatrick, L., Jiang, Z., Stains, J., Ebrat, B., Guyonnet, D., Legrain-Raspaud, S., Trotin, B., Naliboff, B. & Mayer, E.A. (2013) Consumption of fermented milk product with probiotic modulates brain activity. Gastroenterology 144(7):1394–401.Google Scholar
Tillisch, K., Mayer, E. A., Gupta, A., Gill, Z., Brazeilles, R., Le Nevé, B., van Hylckama Vlieg, J. E. T., Guyonnet, D., Derrien, M. & Labus, J. S. (2017) Brain structure and response to emotional stimuli as related to gut microbial profiles in healthy women. Psychosomatic Medicine 79(8):905–13. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000493.Google Scholar
Waclawikova, B. & El Aidy, S. (2018) Role of microbiota and tryptophan metabolites in the remote effect of intestinal inflammation on brain and depression. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 11(3):63. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ph11030063.Google Scholar