“The microbiota-gut-brain axis and its role in psychiatric disorders”
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It is recognized that microbes residing in the gastrointestinal tract can influence brain physiology and behavior. Recent research has shown that the gastrointestinal microbiota can send signals to the brain through various pathways, including immune activation, the production of metabolites and microbial peptides, vagus nerve activation, and the production of various neurotransmitters and neuromodulators in the gut itself. Bidirectional signaling between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain is vital for maintaining homeostasis and is regulated at the neuronal (central and enteric nervous systems), hormonal, and immunological levels. This bidirectional pathway is called the microbiota-gut-brain axis, and it is implicated in various psychological processes and neuropsychiatric disorders. These include mood and anxiety disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia, and even neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
We aim to better understand the role of the microbiota in brain health, age-related cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, and autism spectrum disorder.
About the speaker
Dr. Aurelijus Burokas, Senior Researcher at the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center
Aurelijus Burokas graduated from Vilnius University and obtained his PhD in biomedicine from Pompeu Fabra University (Spain).
From 2014 to 2016, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork (Ireland), and from 2016 to 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow in a joint research project between the Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Pompeu Fabra University, Spain, and the pharmaceutical company Esteve Quimica in Barcelona.
Since 2019, he has been a senior researcher at Vilnius University.
His research focuses on the microbiota-gut-brain axis and its role in neuropsychiatric disorders. He aims to understand the role of the gut microbiota in brain health and age-related cognitive decline, and to identify potential biomarkers of the gut microbiota in brain-related diseases in order to improve their treatment.
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