ReviewFrontiers in behavioral neuroscience2017
Gut to Brain Dysbiosis: Mechanisms Linking Western Diet Consumption, the Microbiome, and Cognitive Impairment.
Review in Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 178 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
178 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Ultra-Processed Food Intakes and Health Outcomes in Adults Older Than 60 Years: A Systematic Review.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- The Interplay between Gut Microbiota and Cognitive Functioning in the Healthy Aging Population: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- The microbiota-gut- hippocampus axis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Microbiota shaping - the effects of probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplant on cognitive functions: A systematic review.World journal of gastroenterology · 2021Pooled it
- Probiotics Contribute to Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2021Pooled it
- Gut microbiota, cognitive frailty and dementia in older individuals: a systematic review.Clinical interventions in aging · 2018Pooled it
- Clinical applications of gut microbiome for non-invasive diagnosis of colorectal neoplasia.Journal of gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Gut Microbiome Changes in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Evaluating the Effect of the EAT-Lancet Diet on Pemphigus Vulgaris Severity: Insights From a Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Consequences of Western and Mediterranean Diets' Nutrients on the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Nutritional Approaches to Managing Brain Fog: Insights Into Neuroinflammation, the Gut-brain Axis, and Sleep.Current nutrition reports · 2026Review
- Dietary patterns and neuropsychological function in adolescents: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Trust your gut: the neuro-gastroenteric mechanics of prediction and expectation.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- The gut-brain axis in pharmacology: microbiome-driven modulation of CNS drugs and neuropsychiatric outcomes.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Gut microbiota and brain aging: a comparative review of African and western populations.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Review
- Meal-specific dietary patterns relate to memory functioning.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Dietary index for gut microbiota (DI-GM) and cognitive function: NHANES findings and validation in a Hong Kong cohort with metagenomic data.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2026Article
- Targeting autophagy and programmed cell death in neurological diseases via probiotic intervention.Gut pathogens · 2025Review
- The Aging Gut-Brain Axis: Effects of Dietary Polyphenols and Metal Exposure.Chronic diseases and translational medicine · 2025Review
118 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Consumption of a Western Diet (WD) that is high in saturated fat and added sugars negatively impacts cognitive function, particularly mnemonic processes that rely on the integrity of the hippocampus. Emerging evidence suggests that the gut microbiome influences cognitive function via the gut-brain axis, and that WD factors significantly alter the proportions of commensal bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Here we review mechanisms through which consuming a WD negatively impacts neurocognitive function, with a particular focus on recent evidence linking the gut microbiome with dietary- and metabolic-associated hippocampal impairment. We highlight evidence linking gut bacteria to altered intestinal permeability and blood brain barrier integrity, thus making the brain more vulnerable to the influx of deleterious substances from the circulation. WD consumption also increases production of endotoxin by commensal bacteria, which may promote neuroinflammation and cognitive dysfunction. Recent findings also show that diet-induced alterations in gut microbiota impair peripheral insulin sensitivity, which is associated with hippocampal neuronal derrangements and associated mnemonic deficits. In some cases treatment with specific probiotics or prebiotics can prevent or reverse some of the deleterious impact of WD consumption on neuropsychological outcomes, indicating that targeting the microbiome may be a successful strategy for combating dietary- and metabolic-associated cognitive impairment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.