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In the United States, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects 1 in 33 children and is characterized by atypical social interactions, communication difficulties, and intense, restricted interests. Microbial dysbiosis in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is frequently observed in individuals with ASD, potentially contributing to behavioral manifestations and correlating with worsening severity. Moreover, dysbiosis may contribute to the increased prevalence of GI comorbidities in the ASD population and exacerbate immune dysregulation, further worsening dysbiosis. Over the past 25 years, research on the impact of microbial manipulation on ASD outcomes has gained substantial interest. Various approaches to microbial manipulation have been preclinically and clinically tested, including antibiotic treatment, dietary modifications, prebiotics, probiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation. Each method has shown varying degrees of success in reducing the severity of ASD behaviors and/or GI symptoms and varying long-term efficacy. In this review, we discuss these microbiome manipulation methods and their outcomes. We also discuss potential microbiome manipulation early in life, as this is a critical period for neurodevelopment.

The Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) on sex differences at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has a long track record studying bidirectional interactions between different organs and the brain in health and disease with a strong focus on sex as a biological variable (SABV). While the initial focus was on brain-gut interactions in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), one of the most common disorders of gut-brain interaction, the scope of our Centers research has expanded to a range of different diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, alcohol use disorder, obesity, urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and vulvodynia. This expansion of research focused on the role of brain-body and brain-gut microbiome interactions in these various disorders, aligning well with the increasing importance of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary team science. The SCOREs Career Enhancement Core (CEC) has modeled team science as applied to SABV research, with educational and training opportunities, a mentoring program, seed grant funding, and other career development experiences that enable mentees to work across the disciplines involved in brain body research. The CEC goals are: (1) To provide seed grant funds for innovative research relevant to the overall SCORE mission and research program; (2) to recruit and foster the career development of students, trainees, and junior investigators who conduct research focused on sex differences or womens health in IBS and chronic constipation and other brain-gut disorders; (3) to facilitate and promote collaboration between the UCLA SCORE and other academic programs involved in womens health education and research; and (4) to promote the importance of SABV through community outreach using collaborative and innovative approaches. These goals focus on establishing the leading research center in sex differences in basic, translational, and clinical aspects of brain-body interactions and on providing women and underrepresented individuals with research opportunities needed to become independent investigators.

A recent opinion article suggested that the target article, "The holobiont mind: A bridge between 4E cognition and the microbiome", wished to generate a "new theory of mind". Furthermore, it contained ideas that were "unnecessary", "not justified", and "not innovative at all". Furthermore the commentators consider that "the ideas of radical enactivism can properly accommodate this research". Here, we address and clarify apprehensions, misreadings, and misunderstandings raised by the commentators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All life on earth is intrinsically linked. At the very foundation of every evolutionary interaction are microorganisms, integral components in the composition of both organisms and ecosystems. The available data and this perspective on the order of life challenge the traditional conception of monogenetic biological individuals, suggesting living beings are actually composite multi-species complexes : holobionts. In the present article, we introduce our perspective on the concept of the holobiont mind, a biogenic conception of cognition compatible with the 4E approach and the holobiont theory. We furthermore expand on the idea of the mind as the emerging product of multi-genomic morphology of a composite animal-agent, in ever-changing interaction with its ecological niche. We thus briefly review recent evidence on the brain–gut–microbiome axis and the Microbiome of the Built Environment in order to provide a bridge between the Holobiont Mind and the 4E approach to Cognition, two complementary lines of evidence that have not been linked before, opening novel venues for research with direct impact on health and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrointestinal (GI) comorbidities are common in individuals with mood and behavioral dysfunction. Similarly, patients with GI problems more commonly suffer from co-morbid psychiatric diagnoses. Although the central and enteric nervous systems (CNS and ENS, respectively) have largely been studied separately, there is emerging interest in factors that may contribute to disease states involving both systems. There is strong evidence to suggest that serotonin may be an important contributor to these brain-gut conditions. Serotonin has long been recognized for its critical functions in CNS development and function. The majority of the body’s serotonin, however, is produced in the GI tract, where it plays key roles in ENS development and function. Further understanding of the specific impact that enteric serotonin has on brain-gut disease may lay the foundation for the creation of novel therapeutic targets. This review summarizes the current data focusing on the important roles that serotonin plays in ENS development and motility, with a focus on novel aspects of serotonergic signaling in medical conditions in which CNS and ENS co-morbidities are common, including autism spectrum disorders and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]