Gut Bacteria and Behavior: The Connection

https://www.fatherly.com/how-gut-bacteria-affects-childrens-mood-1215717646.html

Ohio State University researchers have found that gut bacteria affect a toddler's temperament. After examining the stool samples of 77 kids aged 18-27 months, the researchers concluded that it was time to step outside and get some fresh air. They also concluded that mood, curiosity, sociability, impulsivity, and — in boys — extroversion were linked to more genetically diverse bacterial species.

Gut bacteria is having a moment lately, even receiving the Very Important Story treatment recently in the New York Times. The paper of record takes a deep dive into research that increasingly suggests the microorganisms swimming around your pipes not only digest food and fight disease, they secrete mood-regulating chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA.

"There is definitely communication between bacteria in the gut and the brain, but we don't know which one starts the conversation," says the OSU study's co-author Dr. Michael Bailey.