Research: How the gut microbiome during infancy is linked to behavioural outcomes in children

Quick Summary: Recent research suggests a strong association between the composition of the gut microbiome in early life and behaviour later in life, particularly pointing to the need for responsible use of antibiotics.

There is a lot of “scientific heat” right now focusing on the connections between the infant gut microbiome and brain development.

But not much is DEFINITELY known for sure. It’s a complex jigsaw puzzle. All we have right now are a few key pieces of good quality scientific evidence, but lots of pieces are missing.

One of these missing pieces takes the form of a super-important question:

Could “disturbances” in the gut microbiome during infancy (for example, from early exposure to antibiotics) — could these disturbances cause neurodevelopmental or behavioural disorders?

Previous evidence:

Certainly in lots of different animal studies (in rodents), the composition of the gut microbiome has been shown to influence neurodevelopment and behaviour.

In humans, the composition of the gut microbiome has been linked to neuropsychiatric outcomes including temperament, inattention and impulsivity, autism, schizophrenia, bipolar…