A new study emphasizes the crucial role of gut microbiome in controlling cravings, social awareness and emotional well-being. The results advocate for creating diets or interventions aimed at enhancing gut-brain communication during adolescence, a crucial time before addiction takes hold.
Researchers from APC Microbiome Ireland, based at University College Cork (UCC), studied young people and discovered a connection between binge drinking among young people and changes in the gut microbiome, the group of microorganisms that reside in the human digestive system and have an impact on health.
The study showed that changes in the microbiome were linked to not being able to understand emotions and wanting to drink alcohol.
The results, which were published in eBioMedicine, add to evidence that the gut microbiome seems to control how the brain and emotions work.
In Western countries, binge drinking is the prevalent form of alcohol abuse among adolescents. This behavior is prevalent, with one in three young Europeans participating in frequent bingeing. The situation is especially dire in Ireland, where a staggering 60% of individuals aged 18 to 24 engage in monthly binge drinking.
Binge drinking is linked to an increased chance of having an alcohol use disorder and enduring cognitive changes that may last into adulthood.
The research, which included 71 young individuals, looked at the relationship between the gut microbiota and social cognition, impulsivity, and desire in young binge drinkers.
Binge drinking has been linked to specific microbiome changes and issues with emotional awareness. Several microbiome species were found to be linked to how people deal with their emotions and how impulsive they are. Over time, researchers found a strong link between cravings and changes in the composition of the microbiome and the neuroactive potential of the brain.
These results could help researchers come up with new dietary or pre/probiotic interventions to help young drinkers during the vulnerable time of adolescence improve the microbiota and cognitive changes caused by drinking.
This research expands findings from animal models showing the microbiome to be a key regulator of social and emotional cognition.
By studying young adults during a crucial stage of both brain and gut-immune development, as explained by lead author Dr. Carbia, “we identified gut microbiome alterations linked to binge drinking in young people.”
The microbiome composition showed connections to social cognition and impulsivity, further demonstrating the gut microbiome’s crucial role in brain function and behavior.
“Changes in the gut microbiome composition and the neuroactive potential were associated with higher craving over time, constituting interesting candidates for early biomarkers of dependence.”
“This study demonstrates that the most common pattern of alcohol misuse during early adulthood,” points out senior author Prof. John Cryan, “is linked with gut microbiome alterations, even before an addiction develops. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of the gut microbiome in regulating craving, social cognition and emotional functioning.”
“The findings support the development of microbiota-targeted diets or interventions to positively modulate gut-brain communication during this vulnerable period of adolescence before an addiction develops.”
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