Gut microbiota: a missing link in psychiatry

The gut microbiota consists of the collection of microbes within the intestine, previously considered of little influence from a mental health perspective, but now regarded as a “virtual organ” weighing up to 1.5 kg in the adult intestine and producing molecules of primary importance for brain function and psychological well-being1. There are more bacteria in the human intestine than there are human cells in the body, and we feed these bacteria,...