AUTHOR=Jena Ankita , Montoya Carlos A. , Mullaney Jane A. , Dilger Ryan N. , Young Wayne , McNabb Warren C. , Roy Nicole C. 

TITLE=Gut-Brain Axis in the Early Postnatal Years of Life: A Developmental Perspective

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2020

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/integrative-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnint.2020.00044

DOI=10.3389/fnint.2020.00044

ISSN=1662-5145

ABSTRACT=In the first two to three years of life, the development of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the brain in humans occurs in parallel. Emerging evidence suggests that alterations in the development of the GI tract during this critical period can influence brain development and vice-versa. It is increasingly recognized that communication between the GI tract and brain is mainly driven by neural, endocrine, immune, and metabolic mediators, collectively called the gut-brain axis (GBA). However, it is unclear whether changes in the GBA during the early postnatal period also occur in response to the parallel development of the GI tract and brain. This review summarizes the current understanding of the communication between the GI tract and brain in response to their development in the early postnatal period.