Citation

Mika A, Day HE, Martinez A, Rumian NL, Greenwood BN, Chichlowski M, Berg BM, Fleshner M. Eur. J. Neurosci. 2016; 45(3): 342-357.

Affiliation

Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309. fleshner@colorado.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/ejn.13444

PMID

27763700

Abstract

Manipulating gut microbes may improve mental health. Prebiotics are indigestible compounds that increase the growth and activity of health- promoting microorganisms, yet few studies have examined how prebiotics affect CNS function. Using an acute inescapable stressor known to produce learned helplessness behaviors such as failure to escape and exaggerated fear, we tested whether early life supplementation of a blend of two prebiotics, galactooligosaccharide (GOS) and polydextrose (PDX), and the glycoprotein lactoferrin (LAC) would attenuate behavioral and biological responses to stress later in life. Juvenile, male F344 rats were fed diets containing either GOS and PDX alone, LAC alone, or GOS, PDX and LAC. All diets altered gut bacteria, while diets containing GOS and PDX increased Lactobacillus spp. After 4 weeks, rats were exposed to inescapable stress, and either immediately sacrificed for blood and tissues, or assessed for learned helplessness 24 hours later. Diets did not attenuate stress effects on spleen weight, corticosterone and blood glucose; however, all diets differentially attenuated stress-induced learned helplessness. Notably, in situ hybridization revealed that all diets reduced stress-evoked cfos mRNA in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), a structure important for learned helplessness behaviors. Also, while GOS, PDX and LAC diet attenuated stress-evoked decreases in mRNA for the 5-HT1A autoreceptor in the DRN, GOS, PDX and LAC diet increased basal BDNF mRNA within the prefrontal cortex. These data suggest early life diets containing prebiotics and/or LAC promote behavioral stress resistance and uniquely modulate gene expression in corresponding circuits. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en