ReviewNature reviews. Microbiology2018
Why does the microbiome affect behaviour?
Review in Nature reviews. Microbiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 150 papers, 2 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
150 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 339 citations in OpenAlex.
- Probiotics for the treatment of depression and its comorbidities: A systemic review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Pooled it
- Microbial Pathogenesis and Pathophysiology of Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Assessment of Microorganisms' Implications in the Neurodegenerative Disease.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Oral Administration of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KBL396 Regulates Serum 5-Hydroxytryptamine and Gut Microbiota: Evidence from a Preclinical Mouse Model and a Randomized Controlled Human Trial.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Trial
- RNA in Plasma Extracellular Vesicles of Adolescent Rhesus Macaques Reveals Immune, Bioenergetic, and Microbial Imprints of Early-Life Adversity: An Exploratory Analysis.Biological psychiatry · 2026Article
- A defined community of core gut microbiota members promotes cognitive performance in honey bees.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Article
- Genome-Resolved in Silico Analysis of Poultry and Swine Lactobacillales Provides a Data-Driven Framework for Elucidating Metabolic Complementary interactions in Multi-Strain Probiotics.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Article
- Society and the Microbiome: A Biopsychosocial Window Into Comprehensive Well-Being: A Review.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Seasonal life stage changes contribute to gut bacterial community profiles of high-altitude birds.Current zoology · 2026Article
- Integrating the Microbiome Into Infection Ecology and Evolution in Wild Animals.Molecular ecology · 2026Review
- Multi-omics comparison of two emerging storage pests (Necrobia rufipes and Tribolium castaneum) of dried black soldier fly larvae product.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- The prairie vole gut-brain-microbiota-axis: a narrative review.Gut microbiome (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- CoSMIC: A hybrid approach for large-scale, high-resolution microbial profiling of novel niches.PloS one · 2026Article
- The intricate relationship between stress and animal welfare: from historical perspective to new avenues.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- Behavioural types correlate with the gut microbiome in juvenile wild and reared gilthead seabream.Royal Society open science · 2025Article
- Microbiome Gut-Brain-Axis: Impact on Brain Development and Mental Health.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Composition and Structure of Gut Microbiota of Wild and CaptiveMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- Interplay between antipredator behavior, parasitism, and gut microbiome in wild stickleback populations.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Article
- Differences in gut microbiome between autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease with and without intracranial aneurysms.Scientific reports · 2025Article
90 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
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Growing evidence indicates that the mammalian microbiome can affect behaviour, and several symbionts even produce neurotransmitters. One common explanation for these observations is that symbionts have evolved to manipulate host behaviour for their benefit. Here, we evaluate the manipulation hypothesis by applying evolutionary theory to recent work on the gut-brain axis. Although the theory predicts manipulation by symbionts under certain conditions, these appear rarely satisfied by the genetically diverse communities of the mammalian microbiome. Specifically, any symbiont investing its resources to manipulate host behaviour is expected to be outcompeted within the microbiome by strains that do not manipulate and redirect their resources into growth and survival. Moreover, current data provide no clear evidence for manipulation. Instead, we show how behavioural effects can readily arise as a by-product of natural selection on microorganisms to grow within the host and natural selection on hosts to depend upon their symbionts. We argue that understanding why the microbiome influences behaviour requires a focus on microbial ecology and local effects within the host.
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.