model of GI tract

Can Gut Bacteria Impact Your Mental Health?

Ayurveda – one of the world’s oldest medical systems — is rooted in the idea that any and all imbalances in the body begin in the gut, per a 2024 review in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. While Ayurvedic practitioners have been healing from this perspective for thousands of years, modern medicine has just recently begun to get on board. A growing body of evidence suggests that microorganisms within the gut may have a profound effect on the way our brains send and receive information, thus affecting our brain activity and resulting behavioral responses.

A 2024 study published in Nature reported that maintaining a healthy gut microbiome is not only essential to homeostasis but that any disturbance to its typical configuration can actually contribute to disease and nervous system disorders — suggesting the existence of the gut-brain axis. Another 2024 study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that when fecal matter from someone suffering from depression was transferred into the colon of an otherwise healthy rat, their behavior and physiological responses mirror those of depression, suggesting that the bacteria in the gut can play a key role in chronic stress and depression.

Adding to this, a new study has pinpointed thirteen groups of microorganisms they believe are associated with the incidence of depressive symptoms.

Microbes in the gut linked to depression

close up of bacteria cells

According to a  2024 study published in Nature Communications, 10 of the offending microorganisms belong to one of two families: Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae. Those belonging to the former family were depleted in people presenting with depression, while those belonging to the latter group were elevated in people with depression. 

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While the research team notes that they can’t point to any microorganisms that are directly causing or preventing depression, they did confirm that some previously identified microbes are, in fact, linked to depression, and were able to single out some new ones that may play a role. Whether or not the gut microbiome is the cause of depression, the relationship between the two is still significant as it can influence how diagnoses are made, according to the study’s co-author, Najaf Amin (per U.S. News & World Report).

“What we are looking for is to identify the bacteria that associate with major depression,” Amin explained to U.S. News & World Report. “This will help us in identifying a biomarker for depression that can be used as an objective measurement in identifying cases — which is lacking at the moment for depression.”

However, if an imbalance within the microbiome is found to be a direct cause of depression, Amin points out that this could be a game changer in the way we treat depression, indicating that prebiotics and probiotics could become a treatment modality.

Lesa O'Leary
Lesa O'Leary

Lesa is a dynamic member of OzHelp’s Service Delivery Team as the Service Delivery Team Leader and Nurse. She has been with OzHelp for five years and believes in leading by example. Lesa has experience in the not-for-profit sector, as well as many roles throughout different industries and sectors, including as a contractor to the Department of Defence. She has expertise in delivering OzHelp’s health and wellbeing programs and engaging with clients in a relaxed and comfortable manner that aligns with the organisation’s vision and objectives.

Lesa has a Certificate 4 in Nursing from Wodonga Tafe, Certificate 4 in Mental Health from Open Colleges, and is currently undertaking a Certificate 4 in Training and Assessment from Tafe NSW. For the past few months Lesa has been an Education and Memberships committee member of the ACT Branch of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).