Can the Bacteria in Your Gut Explain Your Mood?

Another thing I&#x27;ve been pondering occasionally is what this and other discoveries might mean if cryonic neuropreservation (head&#x2F;brain only) storage &amp; reversal is ever practical, or if full head transplants become a viable surgery.<p>Just how much of actual <i>personness</i> is stored in places other than just the brain? Surely the hormonal (endocrine?) systems of the body, as well as things like the microbiome are going to play important roles, although I have no clue if they&#x27;re <i>necessary</i>.

This reminds me of the cases where a course of antibiotics for something unrelated cured chronic back pain.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.naturalnews.com&#x2F;040354_chronic_back_pain_antibiotics_spinal_injury.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.naturalnews.com&#x2F;040354_chronic_back_pain_antibiot...</a><p>It also reminds me of Russian &quot;phages&quot; bacterial concoctions as cures for certain illnesses. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Phage_therapy" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Phage_therapy</a>

The problem with this emerging theory about bacteria in the Gut modulating mood, obesity, etc. is very hard to be proved in an <i>absolute</i> way. The number of bacteria&#x27;s in the gut is extremely high. I think we need much more research on the topic to be absolutely sure we know what we&#x27;re talking about.<p>There is a growing awareness about probiotics, but most of the studies I read are not convincing enough, as of today.

I had my entire large intestine removed over several operations, and i felt no difference in my mood

It&#x27;s a little concerning that Mazmanian believes that diet can help autism, when all the placebo-controlled trials show that none of the weird and wacky diets actually work.

If this effect was large, wouldn&#x27;t we have spotted it by now?<p>Doctors prescribe antibiotics for nearly anything nowadays. Along the antibiotic, you will get some sort of probiotic (selected strains of bacteria), not to mention all the yogurt and similar products we&#x27;re eating. Millions of people around the world do it every year. At least some will correctly follow instructions, finish the round of antibiotic, and take the supplement for a while longer.<p>Essentially, we blast and replace bacteria in our guts all the time in a massive natural experiment. Yet I haven&#x27;t seen any life-changing results.

I&#x27;m curious why these articles are posted so often on HN. Do a lot of people here have mood disorders? If so, would it not be better to look at the more obvious causes -- lifestyle and stress -- rather than trying to pin the blame on some outside entity?<p>There really isn&#x27;t much if any evidence supporting this hypothesis at the moment, and even if there is an effect it appears to be relatively minor.

Giulia Enders was recently interviewed on TVO (public television channel in Ontario) that you might enjoy: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;tvo.org&#x2F;video&#x2F;213722&#x2F;giulia-enders-gut-reaction" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;tvo.org&#x2F;video&#x2F;213722&#x2F;giulia-enders-gut-reaction</a>

<i>Vitals</i> by Greg Bear is an interesting (fictional) take on this premise, in which modified bacteria can be be weaponised to influence people&#x27;s behaviour.

I remember an old saying about drinking the water from boiled potato to improve mood.

No it cannot[1].<p>[1] See Betteridge&#x27;s Law.

There is a simpler question - could one tell anxiety from hunger? (I can&#x27;t) or the feeling of being hungry &quot;reuses anxiety&quot; in context?<p>This explains why stressed people are overeating - they misinterpret their anxiety as feeling hungry and develop a habit of &quot;eating it over&quot;.<p>Bacteria stuff is just BS.