Psychobiotics

Psychobiotics is a relatively new and emerging field of psychiatry. The body's microbiome plays important roles in inflammatory response and neurologic function.

• Certain individuals with acute mania have been found to have elevated levels of inflammation, suggesting a possible role for probiotic use.
• A small study demonstrated that the use of supplementation psychobiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strain Bb12) was associated with a lower rate of rehospitalization in patients who have been recently discharged following hospitalization for mania.^[1]
  • The effects are hypothesized to be due to modulation of central nervous system inflammation through the gut–brain axis.