A study by the University of Southern California in the United States has revealed that the imbalance of intestinal bacteria in autistic children can lead to a disorder in the substance levels resulting from metabolism, called “intestinal receptors”, which in turn affects the production of neurotransmitters, and contributes to the emergence of behavioral symptoms associated with autism.
The study published in the journal “Nature Communications” added a new guide for increased research on the role of “intestinal brain axis” in autism spectrum disorder, which opens the door to potential treatments aimed at improving intestinal health to relieve symptoms.
The “intestinal brain axis” is one of the most exciting scientific concepts of recent years, because it reveals a complex and dynamic connection between the digestive and central nervous systems.
This axis depends on a double direction network which includes nerves, hormones, the immune system and the intestinal microbium which consists of beneficial bacteria that live in the intestine.
New research has indicated that this relationship plays a decisive role not only in digestion and metabolism, but also in mental health, mood, behavior and even neurological diseases such as autism, depression and parkinson.
The link between the intestine and the brain
The first author of the study, Lisa Aziz Zadeh, professor at the Institute of Brain and Creativity of the University of South California, said that intestinal receptors affect the brain, which in turn affects behavior.
She added: “In other words, the brain is the mediator between intestine health and behaviors associated with autism, and previous studies have indicated differences in the intestinal microbium and the brain structure in autistic people, but our research connects these elements.”
She pointed out that the idea of ”the link between the intestine and the brain” is not far from reality, explaining that from an evolutionary point of view, the intestine was the “first brain” of humans.
The intestine contains a number of neurons that exceed those of the spinal cord, and 90% of the nervous signals between the intestine and the brain are transmitted from the intestine to the brain, while only 10% are transmitted in the opposite direction.
This continuous communication is explained by the reasons why we sometimes feel “the intuition of the intestine”, or we link feelings to sensation in the stomach, a phenomenon called “internal feeling”.
The researchers analyzed the data of 84 children (43 with autism and 41 normal children), between 8 and 17 years old, because they took samples of stools to analyze the receptors of the intestine bacteria, led a cerebral representation of the evaluation of nerve activity, in addition to a behavioral evaluation of the symptoms.
The study focused on the Tryptophan path which produces serotonin, the neurotransmitter affecting mood, learning, social interaction and cognitive functions, because the results have revealed that there is an imbalance in the balance of intestinal interlocuties in autistic children, which led to changes in the production of serotonin in turn which affected brain activity and behaviors associated with the author.
The study said that improving intestinal health can be a key to developing more effective treatments for autism, however, researchers have stressed the need for more research to understand the precise mechanisms of this association.
The author, Sophienia Ringuld, sees the ability to develop treatments that depend on improving intestinal health to modify activity and nervous behavior.
She said this approach “could help reduce certain boring symptoms for autistic children, such as digestive problems and repeated behavior.”
