REVIEW article
Front. Microbiomes
Sec. Host and Microbe Associations
This article is part of the Research TopicHost and Microbe Immunometabolic Chat: A New Era of Organismal CommunicationView all 11 articles
The Gut–Brain Connection: Microbes' Influence on Mental Health and Psychological Disorders
Provisionally accepted
- 1Islamic Azad University, Marand Branch, East Azarbaijan, Iran
- 2Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Tehran, Iran
- 3University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
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The human gut microbiome has emerged as a pivotal modulator of brain function and mental health, acting through intricate bidirectional communication along the gut–brain axis. Mounting evidence suggests that microbial communities influence neurodevelopment, neurotransmission, and behavior via pathways involving the vagus nerve, immune signaling, and microbiota-derived metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids and neurotransmitter precursors. This review critically examines the mechanistic underpinnings of microbiota–brain communication and evaluates current findings linking dysbiosis to psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and bipolar disorder. In addition, it assesses the therapeutic potential of microbiome-targeted interventions—such as probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and precision dietary modulation—in ameliorating neuropsychiatric symptoms. While the field holds considerable promise, limitations, including correlational study designs, small sample sizes, and a lack of standardized methodologies, underscore the need for rigorous, large-scale clinical trials. A deeper understanding of host–microbe interactions may catalyze a paradigm shift in psychiatric treatment, paving the way for novel, personalized microbiome-based therapeutics.
Keywords: Gut–brain axis, Mental Health, microbiome, microbiome nexus, neurotransmitters and microbiota, Psychological disorders
Received: 08 Sep 2025; Accepted: 03 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ataei, Kalantari, Bodnar and Turner. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Raymond J Turner
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