{"id":227352,"date":"2026-08-06T12:31:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T10:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microbiome-center.nl\/?p=227352"},"modified":"2026-08-06T14:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T12:53:09","slug":"6-nervous-system-and-psyche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microbiome-center.nl\/en\/6-nervous-system-and-psyche\/","title":{"rendered":"6: Nervous system and psyche"},"content":{"rendered":"<style id=\"divi-off-canvas-hide-on-load\">\n[data-interaction-target=\"zwocqpy6qf\"] { display: none !important; }\n<\/style>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Microbiome can directly influence nervous system (!)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That there is a relationship between the gut and the brain is not new (1). Since 2014, almost 2000 publications have been published. In February 2020, Nature published research demonstrating a direct link between the microbiome and the nervous system in the gut (2,3). The researchers identified a receptor that is an intrinsic part of the nervous system in the gut and showed that microorganisms in the gut can directly express this receptor (3). This affects functions of the local neural network, such as peristalsis, but through the connection of the vagus nerve, this receptor also provides a direct link between the microbiome and the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Role of the microbiome in autism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are strong suspicions that autism spectrum disorder is related to gut health. Autistic children often have intestinal complaints such as chronic diarrhea or constipation (4,5) and belong to the group of children most often referred to an MDL doctor (5). In autistic people there is evidence of increased intestinal permeability (6) and elevated levels of an endotoxin of bacterial origin (LPS) are found in the blood (7). A small study with faecal transplantation in autistic children resulted not only in greatly reduced intestinal complaints, but also in significantly improved behavioral scores (8). This effect was still present two years later (9). Recent pilot studies with pre- and probiotics also show tentative improvements in behavioral scores (10,11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>References<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1152\/physrev.00018.2018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1152\/physrev.00018.2018<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrc.nl\/nieuws\/2020\/02\/12\/bacterien-communiceren-met-zenuwstelsel-in-de-darm-a3990193\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.nrc.nl\/nieuws\/2020\/02\/12\/bacterien-communiceren-met-zenuwstelsel-in-de-darm-a3990193<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-020-1975-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-020-1975-8<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10803-013-1973-x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10803-013-1973-x<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3748\/wjg.v22.i46.10093\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3748\/wjg.v22.i46.10093<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijms20092115\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijms20092115<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3748\/wjg.v22.i1.361\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3748\/wjg.v22.i1.361<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40168-016-0225-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40168-016-0225-7<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41598-019-42183-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41598-019-42183-0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40168-018-0523-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40168-018-0523-3<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/nu11040820\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/nu11040820<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_pb_section--fixed et_section_regular et_flex_section et-interaction-target-zwocqpy6qf preset--module--divi-section--default\" data-interaction-trigger=\"7hv7hq8l9z\" data-interaction-target=\"zwocqpy6qf\" id=\"video_canvas\"><div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_flex_row\"><div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\"><div class=\"et_pb_icon_0 et_pb_icon et_pb_module et_flex_module video_close\"><span class=\"et_pb_icon_wrap\"><span class=\"et-pb-icon\">\uf057<\/span><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_code_0 et_pb_code et_pb_module\" id=\"microbiome_center_video_iframe\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Microbiome can directly influence nervous system (!) That there is a relationship between the gut and the brain is not new (1). Since 2014, almost 2000 publications have been published. In February 2020, Nature published research demonstrating a direct link between the microbiome and the nervous system in the gut (2,3). The researchers identified a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"doelgroep":[106],"class_list":["post-227352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","doelgroep-practitioner"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>6: Nervous system and psyche - Microbiome Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6: Nervous system and psyche - Microbiome Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Microbiome can directly influence nervous system (!) That there is a relationship between the gut and the brain is not new (1). Since 2014, almost 2000 publications have been published. In February 2020, Nature published research demonstrating a direct link between the microbiome and the nervous system in the gut (2,3). 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