Chapter 6 Microbiota influence brain systems—Work in animal models

In the past 10–15 years, there has been a continual increase in the number of studies that investigate the role of the microbiome in brain health. Most of these studies have been conducted in rodent models, and these studies provide the foundation for ongoing human studies that are essential to leveraging the microbiome to advance precision health approaches for psychiatry. The microbiome and microbiota–brain signaling pathways influence several brain systems/networks. Here, key findings from rodent studies related to neuroimmunology, neurotransmission, and neuroplasticity are considered. The field is moving from studies that show microbiota–brain associations to those that reveal mechanisms, and excitingly translating these mechanistic findings to human health and disease is on the horizon.