ArticleScientific reports2020
Bifidobacteria shape host neural circuits during postnatal development by promoting synapse formation and microglial function.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
77 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 116 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the Role of Microglial Cells in the Gut-Brain Axis Communication: A Systematic Review.Journal of neurochemistry · 2025Pooled it
- The microbiota-gut- hippocampus axis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Parental microbiome programming of early-life neurodevelopment: multi-niche contributions through the microbiome-gut-brain axis.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- The putative role of the microbiota in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders following early childhood malnutrition.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Tamoxifen Promotes SustainedInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Bifidobacteria: biogeography, host adaptation and ecological functions.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Human milk microbiome as a modulator of the early-life gut-brain axis: mechanisms and translational opportunities for neurodevelopment.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Maternal and infant gut microbiome.iMeta · 2026Review
- Cognitive Impairment Associated with Chemotherapy: Neuroimmunological Interactions, Gut-Brain Axis, and Therapeutic Approaches.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- The Gut Microbiome in Early Ontogeny: Implications for Brain and Immune System Development.Journal of developmental biology · 2026Review
- Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Chronic Gastrointestinal Symptoms Have Alterations in Intestinal Neurotransmitter Pathways.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2026Article
- The gut microbiome shapes social behaviour across animal species.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Saffron Alters Microbial Amino Acid Metabolism and Neurotransmitter Production in a Defined Gut Consortium.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Germ-free piglets display variable neuroinflammatory-like perturbations in prefrontal cortical microglia.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- An integrative multi-omics approach identifies microbiome alterations linked to pathological and behavioral features in autism spectrum disorder.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- Probiotics as Modulators of Adult Neurogenesis and Synaptic Plasticity: New Perspectives in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Affective Disorders.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- The Microbiota Shapes Central Nervous System Myelination in Early Life.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Article
- Microbiome-behavior coupling shapes infant adaptation to early maternal unpredictability.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
17 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
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
We hypothesized that early-life gut microbiota support the functional organization of neural circuitry in the brain via regulation of synaptic gene expression and modulation of microglial functionality. Germ-free mice were colonized as neonates with either a simplified human infant microbiota consortium consisting of four Bifidobacterium species, or with a complex, conventional murine microbiota. We examined the cerebellum, cortex, and hippocampus of both groups of colonized mice in addition to germ-free control mice. At postnatal day 4 (P4), conventionalized mice and Bifidobacterium-colonized mice exhibited decreased expression of synapse-promoting genes and increased markers indicative of reactive microglia in the cerebellum, cortex and hippocampus relative to germ-free mice. By P20, both conventional and Bifidobacterium-treated mice exhibited normal synaptic density and neuronal activity as measured by density of VGLUT2
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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.