Oxytocin and the microbiome

Bernard J Varian; Katherine T Weber; Susan E Erdman

doi:10.1016/j.cpnec.2023.100205

Oxytocin and the microbiome

Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2023 Aug 25:16:100205. doi: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2023.100205. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

Bernard J Varian¹, Katherine T Weber¹, Susan E Erdman¹

Affiliation

¹ Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.

Abstract

The mammalian host microbiome affects many targets throughout the body, at least in part through an integrated gut-brain-immune axis and neuropeptide hormone oxytocin. It was discovered in animal models that microbial symbionts, such as Lactobacillus reuteri, leverage perinatal niches to promote multigenerational good health and reproductive fitness. While roles for oxytocin were once limited to women, such as giving birth and nurturing offspring, oxytocin is now also proposed to have important roles linking microbial symbionts with overall host fitness and survival throughout the evolutionary journey.

Keywords: Gut-brain-immune axis; L. reuteri; Probiotic; Symbiont; Symbiotic; Vagus nerve.

Publication types

Review