Overview
- The Nature Communications study linked gut microbiome profiles at age two to whole-brain functional connectivity at age six and to internalizing symptoms at 7.5 years.
- Researchers used resting-state fMRI and sparse partial least squares to identify two connectivity signatures most associated with later anxiety/depression-related symptoms.
- The signatures involved networks including SOFA, medial temporal lobe, salience, parietomedial, default mode, ventral attention, and fronto-parietal systems.
- Specific microbial patterns, including taxa within Clostridiales and the Lachnospiraceae family, and functional profiles tied to cellular energy metabolism, covaried with the brain signatures.
- No direct microbe-to-symptom link was found; associations appeared indirect via brain connectivity, and the authors emphasize the small N=55 GUSTO cohort limits generalizability and precludes causal claims.