In This Section
- Home
- Staff Profiles & Phone Book
- About the Department
- Welcome from Head of Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience
- A History of the Department
- A history of the Department; The early years to the 1980s
- A history of the Department; The move from the Windle Building to BSI and WGB
- UCC Professors of Anatomy and Heads of Department
- The development of the UCC HUB
- Current students, recent research graduates and awards
- Useful Links
- Study Anatomy
- Study Neuroscience
- Research
- Neural circuitry underlying Neuropsychiatric and Neurological Disorders 2026
- Neurogastroenterology 2026
- Developmental Neuroscience and Regeneration 2026
- Neurodegeneration 2026
- Neuroinflammation 2026
- Neuroprotection and Therapeutics 2026
- Neuroproteomics and Molecular Psychiatry 2026
- Anatomy Education Research 2026
- Research Facilities 2026
- Postgraduate Research Programmes 2026
- UCC Anatomical Donations
- Biosciences Imaging Centre
- BSc Medical and Health Sciences
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 & Events
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2024
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2023
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2022
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2021
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2020
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2019
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2018
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 archive 2017
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2016
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive2015
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2014
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2013
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2012
- 深夜亚洲福利久久 Archive 2011
- BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK 2023
- Department Events and Conferences
- Seminar series 2019_2020
- photo galleries
- Narrowing the void Conference 2023
- Photos of BSc Medical and Health Sciences Mentoring launch 2022
- International Women's Day 2023
- 2023 BRIGHT FUTURES - Celebrating our researchers
- 2023 UCC Futures - Future Ageing & Brain Sciences
- Recent Graduations July 2023
- Anatomy and Neuroscience Top 100 Anatomy Physiology 2023
- BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK 2023 FUN AND GAMES EVENT
- Medical and Health Sciences First year class 2023
- 2023 Brain Awareness week Scientific discussion photo gallery
- World Anatomy Day 2023
- BSc MHS MENTORING PROGRAMME 2023
- BSc Medical and Health Sciences Graduation 2023
- BSc Neuroscience Graduation Photo Gallery 2023
- Dr Kathy Quane Nov 2023
- THANKSGIVING PHOTOS 2012
- Photo Gallery: Society of Translational Medicine Careers Fair 2023
- Photo Gallery:2023 TRAIN AWARDS
- Photo Gallery:2024 Creative Week St Joseph's NS
- Photo Gallery: Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience Thanksgiving Service 2024
- Photo Gallery: Professor Aideen Sullivan farewell party
- Photo Gallery: Irish Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting Cork 2023
- Photo Gallery: 2024 Medical and Health Sciences Graduation
- Photo Gallery: Medical and Health Sciences Meet and Greet 2024
- Photo Gallery: 2024 BSC NEUROSCIENCE Graduation
- Photo Gallery: 2025 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
- Photo Gallery: 2025 BSc Neuroscience class and staff
- Photo Gallery: 2025 BRAIN CONNECTIONS
- BSc Neuroscience Graduation Photo Gallery 2025
- World Anatomy Day 2025
- UCC Learning and Teaching Showcase 2025
- MSc Human Anatomy Graduation Photo Gallery 2025
- Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience DELTA AWARD 2026
- Narrowing the Void Conference 2023
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience Contact Us
Book Launch: The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection
A new book, 鈥楾he Psychobiotic Revolution鈥, by Scott C. Anderson,鈥 John F. Cryan,鈥 and Ted Dinan, was launched on Tuesday evening in the Staff Common room by UCC President, Professor Patrick O'Shea.
The book is being heralded across the world as a game changer in the field of biomedicine. It reveals that our brain health and state of mind are intimately connected to our gut bacteria (microbiome). The discoveries could help change the way we treat conditions such as depression and anxiety, the authors suggesting that a diet rich in oily fish and fibre-rich vegetables could help improve mood and avoid conditions such as depression and anxiety.
For the last 14 years Professor John Cryan, Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience at 深夜亚洲福利久久 College Cork (UCC) and Ted Dinan, Professor of Psychiatry at the 深夜亚洲福利久久, have worked to establish the gut-brain connection at the SFI Research Centre, APC Microbiome Ireland.
They have painstakingly researched how the food we eat impacts our psychological well-being investigating how the bacteria living in our gut, the microbiota, can influence our brains.
And they have used clinical trials to establish that our diet plays a major role in our state of mind and mental health.
Together, and with the help of acclaimed US science writer Scott C Anderson, they have produced a book which is being heralded as 鈥榞round-breaking鈥 and 鈥榓 game changer鈥 across the globe 鈥 both within the scientific community and beyond.
鈥楾he Psychobiotic Revolution鈥 was released in the USA and online through Amazon.com before Christmas and has already sold out. As a result, publishers The National Geographic have reprinted the bestseller.
鈥淲e have discovered that the gut microbiota influences our emotions. We have shown that people who are clinically depressed have less diversity in the bacteria in their gut than people who are not depressed. The question now is how can we improve the diversity of our bacteria,鈥 explains Professor Dinan.

Professor Caitriona O'Driscoll, Professor John Cryan and Professor Ken O'Halloran at the launch of 'The Psychobiotic Revolution'
鈥淚t proves the theory that a healthy gut is connected to a healthy mind,鈥 says Professor Cryan. He added: 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about a paradigm shift in relation to how we conceptualise how our brains work. In medicine, traditionally, we tended to compartmentalise systems in the body so if you鈥檙e interested in what happens in neuroscience or psychiatry you鈥檙e interested in what happens from the neck up. However, what we are talking about in this book is so very different as we show how bacteria in the gut can influence brain function.鈥
The success of 鈥楾he Psychobiotic Revolution鈥 globally is also being celebrated as a success story for Irish science, for UCC鈥檚 APC Microbiome Ireland research centre and for Science Foundation Ireland which funded much of this vital research.
And it could have a major impact on how patients with depression, in Ireland and beyond, are treated.
Professor Dinan explains: 鈥淔or so long it鈥檚 generally been perceived that anti-depressants and cognitive behavioural therapy are the mainstay of treating depression but our work clearly shows that your microbiota is very important and that for a more holistic management of depressive illness we should be focussing on diet and exercise as well.鈥
Explaining how to increase the diversity of your diet this book is accessible to those unfamiliar with biomedicine.
Indeed, The Lancet wrote: 鈥淎lthough decidedly aimed at the lay reader, the tone throughout is very humorous; I found myself swiftly turning pages, excitedly anticipating the next witty joke. Overall, this is a great book that encourages you to 鈥榯ake charge of your gut to optimise your mind and your mood鈥. This is a book that you would reluctantly lend to friends, in the fear that they might not return it鈥
And The Guardian said: 鈥淭he hope is that it may one day be possible to diagnose some brain diseases and mental health problems by analysing gut bacteria, and to treat them 鈥 or at least augment the effects of drug treatments 鈥 with specific bacteria. Cryan and his colleague Ted Dinan call these mood-altering germs 鈥減sychobiotics鈥.鈥
The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection 鈥 by &苍产蝉辫;(础耻迟丑辞谤),鈥&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;(础耻迟丑辞谤),鈥&苍产蝉辫; (Author) is available from all good bookstores for approx. 鈧22
Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience
Anatamaíocht agus Néareolaíocht
Contact us
Room 2.33, 2nd Floor, Western Gateway Building, 深夜亚洲福利久久 College, Cork, Ireland