The brain in your belly
Stefanie Malan-Muller |
TEDxStellenbosch
• February 2018
Humans are giant reservoir for about 40 trillion bacteria that live inside and on our bodies. These bacteria perform very important functions, such as metabolising food and medicine and providing protection against infections. But more importantly, in recent years researchers have discovered that the microbes that reside in our gut (gut microbiota) even influences our brain and behaviour. In this talk, the complex interaction between the gut, its microbiota and the brain, called the gut-microbiota-brain axis is explained. The gut-microbiota-brain axis, how it influences our brain functioning and behaviour, as well as implications of this axis on mental health is explored.