US EditionMemory Loss Is Fuelled by Gut Microbes in Ageing Mice
Stanford researchers identified Parabacteroides goldsteinii as a key gut bacterium impairing memory by disrupting vagus nerve signaling in aging mice.
- On Wednesday, Nature published a study identifying a gut bacterium, Parabacteroides goldsteinii, that proliferates with age and contributes to memory loss. Stanford University researchers Christoph Thaiss and Maayan Levy led the work linking gut health to cognitive function.
- Graduate student Timothy Cox at the University of Pennsylvania led observations showing young mice housed with older ones experienced "really impaired cognition". The team discovered that Parabacteroides transmits between mice through fecal contact, causing premature age-related memory decline.
- The bacterium releases medium-chain fatty acids that trigger intestinal inflammation, silencing the vagus nerve—the body's main communication highway to the brain. This silence effectively "numbs" the hippocampus, leading to memory loss.
- Remarkably, stimulating the vagus nerve or resetting the gut microbiome with antibiotics restored memory in old mice to the level of two-month-old animals. These findings prove cognitive aging can be modulated from the digestive tract.
- Though Christoph Thaiss at Stanford University emphasizes it is too soon to apply these methods to humans, the vagus nerve is already Food and Drug Administration-approved for treating epilepsy. Further studies are needed to establish human relevance.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Modulating gut microbiome may help reverse ageing-related memory loss: Study - The Tribune
The study in mice, published in the journal 'Nature', showed that composition of the naturally occurring bacterial population living in the gut changes with age - favouring some species of bacteria over others.
Stanford study links gut bacteria to age-related memory loss
Old mice got smarter when researchers tweaked their gut bacteria and stimulated the vagus nerve — restoring cognitive performance to young-animal levels, according to Stanford Medicine. The study, published in Nature, traced the mechanism in detail. A bacterium called Parabacteroides goldsteinii proliferates as mice age and triggers the release of medium-chain fatty acids that set off an inflammatory immune response in gut myeloid cells. — Read …
It's often said that memory declines with age. However, not everyone ages equally. Some people maintain sharp cognitive abilities well into their 100s, while others experience memory decline starting in middle age. Recently, the scientific community has shifted its focus from simply attributing age-related forgetfulness to the aging brain, focusing instead on how the brain connects with other organs.
Gut microbes affect cognition during ageing
As mice age, changes in the microorganisms in their guts contribute to cognitive decline by altering signalling between the gut and brain. As mice age, changes in the microorganisms in their guts contribute to cognitive decline by altering signalling between the gut and brain.
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