ArticleBMC neurology2023
Sex-dependent gut microbiota-brain-cognition associations: a multimodal MRI study.
Article in BMC neurology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gut-brain axis and neuroplasticity in health and disease: a systematic review.La Radiologia medica · 2025Pooled it
- Gut Microbiota Impact on Cognitive Function in Humans.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Structural and molecular substrates underlying functional dysconnectivity and cognitive impairment in neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Maternal docosahexaenoic acid supplementation shapes offspring gut microbiota to modulate the gut-brain axis in a sow-piglet model.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- How gut microbiota contribute to neuropsychiatric disorders: evidence from neuroimaging studies.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- The association between gut microbiota and functional connectivity in cognitive impairment of first-episode major depressive disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- The link between gut microbiome and Alzheimer's disease: From the perspective of new revised criteria for diagnosis and staging of Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is bidirectional communication between the gut microbiota and the brain. Empirical evidence has demonstrated sex differences in both the gut microbiome and the brain. However, the effects of sex on the gut microbiota-brain associations have yet to be determined. We aim to elucidate the sex-specific effects of gut microbiota on brain and cognition.
methodsOne hundred fifty-seven healthy young adults underwent brain structural, perfusion, functional and diffusion MRIs to measure gray matter volume (GMV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), functional connectivity strength (FCS) and white matter integrity, respectively. Fecal samples were collected and 16S amplicon sequencing was utilized to assess gut microbial diversity. Correlation analyses were conducted to test for sex-dependent associations between microbial diversity and brain imaging parameters, and mediation analysis was performed to further characterize the gut microbiota-brain-cognition relationship.
resultsWe found that higher gut microbial diversity was associated with higher GMV in the right cerebellum VI, higher CBF in the bilateral calcarine sulcus yet lower CBF in the left superior frontal gyrus, higher FCS in the bilateral paracentral lobule, and lower diffusivity in widespread white matter regions in males. However, these associations were absent in females. Of more importance, these neuroimaging biomarkers significantly mediated the association between gut microbial diversity and behavioral inhibition in males.
conclusionsThese findings highlight sex as a potential influential factor underlying the gut microbiota-brain-cognition relationship, and expose the gut microbiota as a biomarker-driven and sex-sensitive intervention target for mental disorders with abnormal behavioral inhibition.
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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.