Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26868600›Full record

ReviewNeuroscience letters2016

Butyrate, neuroepigenetics and the gut microbiome: Can a high fiber diet improve brain health?

Megan W Bourassa, Ishraq Alim, Scott J Bultman, Rajiv R Ratan

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Neuroscience letters, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 299 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
299citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
34.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

299 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 613 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Changes in Gut Microbiota and Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
    Pooled it
  7. The microbiota-gut- hippocampus axis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022
    Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
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  12. Trial
  13. Review
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  15. The microbiota-proteostasis axis: implications in neurodegenerative diseases.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026
    Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Neuroglobin: A New Player in the Gut-Brain Axis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  19. Review
  20. Review

239 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Megan W BourassaSperling Center for Hemorrhagic Stroke Recovery, Burke Medical Research Institute, 785 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, NY 10605, USA; Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Ave. Box 65, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Ishraq AlimSperling Center for Hemorrhagic Stroke Recovery, Burke Medical Research Institute, 785 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, NY 10605, USA; Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Ave. Box 65, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Scott J BultmanDepartment of Genetics, University of North Carolina Genetic Medicine Building, Room 5060, 120 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Rajiv R RatanSperling Center for Hemorrhagic Stroke Recovery, Burke Medical Research Institute, 785 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, NY 10605, USA; Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Ave. Box 65, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: rrr2001@med.cornell.edu.
MIND Research Institute · USBurke Medical Research Institute · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

TRANSCRIPTIONAL RESPONSES TO MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTIONP01AG014930 · NIA · WINIFRED MASTERSON BURKE MED RES INST · PI GIBSON, GARY E · 1999 to 2020
$30.7M
Functional dissection of a radial subdivision among hippocampal pyramidal cellsF30NS090819 · NINDS · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI DANIELSON, NATHAN B · 2014 to 2017
$179k
NIA NIH HHS P01 AG014930NINDS NIH HHS F30 NS090819
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

As interest in the gut microbiome has grown in recent years, attention has turned to the impact of our diet on our brain. The benefits of a high fiber diet in the colon have been well documented in epidemiological studies, but its potential impact on the brain has largely been understudied. Here, we will review evidence that butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced by bacterial fermentation of fiber in the colon, can improve brain health. Butyrate has been extensively studied as a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor but also functions as a ligand for a subset of G protein-coupled receptors and as an energy metabolite. These diverse modes of action make it well suited for solving the wide array of imbalances frequently encountered in neurological disorders. In this review, we will integrate evidence from the disparate fields of gastroenterology and neuroscience to hypothesize that the metabolism of a high fiber diet in the gut can alter gene expression in the brain to prevent neurodegeneration and promote regeneration.

Indexed as

Epigenesis, GeneticGastrointestinal MicrobiomeAnimalsBrainButyratesCognitionDietary FiberHistone Deacetylase InhibitorsHumansMitochondriaReceptors, G-Protein-CoupledButyratesDietary FiberHistone Deacetylase InhibitorsReceptors, G-Protein-CoupledButyrateGut-brain axisGut microbiomeHigh fiber dietNeuroepigenetics

Identifiers

PMID26868600
PMCPMC4903954
OpenAlexW2256778397

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.