Bifidobacterium longum 1714™ Strain Modulates Brain Activity of Healthy Volunteers During Social Stress

• Published in: The American journal of gastroenterology Vol. 114; no. 7; pp. 1152 - 1162
• Main Authors: Wang, Huiying, Braun, Christoph, Murphy, Eileen F., Enck, Paul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wolters Kluwer Health Medical Research, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01.07.2019; Wolters Kluwer
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Bifidobacterium longum - drug effects; Bifidobacterium longum - pathogenicity; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiopathology; Design; Dietary supplements; Double-Blind Method; Emotions; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology; Gut microbiota; Gut-brain axis; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Irritable bowel syndrome; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medical imaging; Neuroimaging; Probiotics; Probiotics - therapeutic use; Questionnaires; Statistics, Nonparametric; Stress, Psychological - diagnosis; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0002-9270; 1572-0241; 1572-0241
• DOI: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000000203

Accumulating evidence indicates that the gut microbiota communicates with the central nervous system, possibly through neural, endocrine, and immune pathways, and influences brain function. B. longum 1714™ has previously been shown to attenuate cortisol output and stress responses in healthy subjects exposed to an acute stressor. However, the ability of B. longum 1714™ to modulate brain function in humans is unclear. In a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, the effects of B. longum 1714™ on neural responses to social stress, induced by the "Cyberball game," a standardized social stress paradigm, were studied. Forty healthy volunteers received either B. longum 1714™ or placebo for 4 weeks at a dose of 1 × 10 cfu/d. Brain activity was measured using magnetoencephalography and health status using the 36-item short-form health survey. B. longum 1714™ altered resting-state neural oscillations, with an increase in theta band power in the frontal and cingulate cortex (P < 0.05) and a decrease in beta-3 band in the hippocampus, fusiform, and temporal cortex (P < 0.05), both of which were associated with subjective vitality changes. All groups showed increased social stress after a 4-week intervention without an effect at behavioral level due to small sample numbers. However, only B. longum 1714™ altered neural oscillation after social stress, with increased theta and alpha band power in the frontal and cingulate cortex (P < 0.05) and supramarginal gyrus (P < 0.05). B. longum 1714™ modulated resting neural activity that correlated with enhanced vitality and reduced mental fatigue. Furthermore, B. longum 1714™ modulated neural responses during social stress, which may be involved in the activation of brain coping centers to counter-regulate negative emotions.