Listening to Your Gut: Our researchers say the "little brain" could be the key to depression
Pictured Above: Dr. Wolfgang Kunze, right, and Dr. Azucena Perez-Burgos are studying the impact the gut has on depression and anxiety. (Photo Credit: Samantha Craggs/CBC)
One of the latest discoveries at the Brain-Body Institute located at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton takes a new perspective on “having a gut feeling” – and it opens up the potential for new treatments for individuals with anxiety or depression.
Researchers at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton have identified a previously unknown nervous relay system in mice that successfully sends the signals of an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety microbe from the abdomen to the brain.
Targeting this newly-discovered nerve pathway in the abdomen changes the way researchers previously understood the nervous system's ability to transmit signals to the brain and opens the potential for new treatments for individuals diagnosed with depression or anxiety.
The study was designed and conducted at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, led by Dr. Wolfgang Kunze, as part of Brain-Body Institute (BBI) in partnership with McMaster University. The study was mainly conducted by researcher Dr. Azucena Perez-Burgos, a postdoctoral fellow working in Dr. Kunze's laboratory. Lead by Dr. John Bienenstock, BBI aims to further explore the role of the brain and the nervous system in relation to common diseases and apply the new knowledge to benefit our population.
CBC News provides more about the science behind the study and what it could mean for future treatment possibilities in their article "Why researchers think the gut holds the key to depression."
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Media Contact:
Megan Bieksa
Senior Specialist, Media & Strategic Issues | Public Affairs Department |St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
T: 905-522-1155 ext. 33037 | E:mbieksa@stjoes.ca | Twitter: @STJOESHAMILTON