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Book Launch: The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

8 Feb 2018
Professor John F. Cryan and Professor Ted Dinan

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

 

 

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