Gut Microbiome and Neurochemical-based Interactions between Host, Microbiota and Diet: Implications for Behavior and Disease

The ability of the gut microbiome to influence various aspects of host health beyond more traditionally associated functions such as digestion of food is increasingly being recognized (Flint, 2012; Shreiner et al., 2015; Tuddenham and Sears, 2015). While interest over the past decade has grown dramatically, our understanding of the interface between the microbiome and host is still largely, but certainly not exclusively, based on correlational studies. Such correlational studies by definition do not demonstrate causality. Clearly, the need to identify the mechanisms by which the microbiome may influence the host remains paramount and an area for which the great bulk of research lies in the future.