The Gut-Brain Axis and OCD

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Introduction


By Ali Hatfield

The bidirectional nature of the gut-brain axis. Alterations in either of the major components can lead to changes in the other. https://foodforthebrain.org/supporting-vagus-nerve-function-is-this-the-missing-link-to-improving-mental-health/


The systems of the human body are connected in many more ways than the average person could think of. At first thought the digestive system, commonly referred to as the human gut, is deeply separated from the nervous system. However, recent research has shown that this is not the case, and there are many more connections between the two than most would imagine. Studies have shown correlations between human gut microbial activity having an effect on psychological well-being, either improving or declining mental health. In cases with a direct connection between gut microbiota and brain activity, this is known as the gut-brain axis. This communication from bowel to brain is bidirectional, with interference in the gut microbiota having the ability to alter the nervous system, and interference with the nervous system having the ability to alter gut activity.

The gut microbiota can affect a variety of psychological disorders, one of which being obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is an anxiety related disorder that is believed to affect about 1% of the population, yet the number of diagnoses is hard to perfect in the case of psychological conditions. It is reportedly more frequently found in women than in men in adults (age >18) and more frequently found in boys than girls (age <18). Like many psychological disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder is a condition that displays a wide range of symptoms and manifests itself differently in each person afflicted by the disorder.


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References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hodgkin, J. and Partridge, F.A. "Caenorhabditis elegans meets microsporidia: the nematode killers from Paris." 2008. PLoS Biology 6:2634-2637.
  2. ↑ Bartlett et al.: Oncolytic viruses as therapeutic cancer vaccines. Molecular Cancer 2013 12:103.
  3. ↑ Bartlett et al.: Oncolytic viruses as therapeutic cancer vaccines. Molecular Cancer 2013 12:103.



Authored for BIOL 238 Microbiology, taught by Joan Slonczewski, 2022, Kenyon College

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