Reversing memory loss via gut-brain communication
87 points
2 hours ago
| 7 comments
| med.stanford.edu
| HN
inanutshellus
1 hour ago
[-]
Everyone's "poo-pooing" the article because the title doesn't mention mice, but, FWIW, stories of gut biota affecting humans behavior have been documented for a while.

Memory gain is noteworthy, which is the article's "wow" factor, but everyone's just knee-jerk smirking so ... here's a few random articles to gross you out about the wild world of trading microbiota and, for better or worse, changing your personality:

  * "My butt made me crave candy."[1]
  * "Gee, I'm not bipolar anymore thanks to my husband's butt juice infusion."[2]
Crazy, right?

   [1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-behavioral-microbiome/202404/hacking-an-individuals-personality-through-their-gut-contents

   [2] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-28/faecal-microbiota-transplant-credited-with-curing-bipolar/105541522
reply
hbcondo714
1 hour ago
[-]
I would recommend the site https://gutbrainaxistherapeutics.com for learning more about Microbiota Transplant Therapy (MTT) and its opportunities, especially for Autism and Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome.
reply
jimkleiber
12 minutes ago
[-]
There was a South Park episode about this years ago where everyone was trying to get it from Tom Brady.
reply
1shooner
1 hour ago
[-]
This seems to be a recent anti-science meme to dismiss studies that use mouse models. I'm sure there is an interesting line of discussion about the strengths and limits of those models, but that's probably a complex, nuanced thread to pull, not something you blow off with a hand-waving internet comment.
reply
inanutshellus
56 minutes ago
[-]
To some degree the other posts are just pointing out the misleading "assumed protagonist" of the title (which doesn't mention mice) but I was surprised to see that the majority of posts boiled down to "eek! mice!"
reply
mustaphah
41 minutes ago
[-]
Yeah, it's a mouse study, but there are tons of human studies backing the whole gut-brain connection. There are even a bunch of books on it [1][2].

What's really cool is that the paper used low-dose capsaicin (just 5 μg/kg injected), and it completely restored hippocampal FOS activity and memory in older mice. Basically, that's the same stuff you get in cayenne pepper supplements - pretty easy to get your hands on.

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28837738-the-mind-gut-co...

[2] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35210457-the-psychobioti...

reply
riazrizvi
3 minutes ago
[-]
Great info. This is one of those things that it is much faster for an individual to take into their own hands to prove out, rather than waiting for the system to provide us with an answer. Too many decision makers who are unlikely to all be aligned with our own individual interests.
reply
seethishat
41 minutes ago
[-]
IMO people should eat more fiber. A lot more fiber. It cleans the gut, the liver, absorbs cholesterol, slows insulin response and makes you feel full longer. The microbes in our guts need it to function.

Rather than jumping from one fad diet to another, just eat what you like and be sure to get a lot of fiber each day.

reply
jstanley
24 minutes ago
[-]
> eat what you like and be sure to get a lot of fiber each day

Sure sounds like another fad diet.

reply
nomel
20 minutes ago
[-]
The charitable interpretation is "just eat more fiber, regardless of the rest"
reply
memonkey
20 minutes ago
[-]
The post is about a scientific study and your response is your opinion with nothing else to back it up?
reply
igleria
12 minutes ago
[-]
they IMO are trying to help by giving good ideas to keep a healthy gut. Add that to the study and at least to me, it´s a nice idea.

btw people, do drink water to keep up with the fiber. Otherwise it might not help.

reply
fnord77
1 hour ago
[-]
... in mice. So if any of this held in humans, I think you'd see reversal of old-age memory problems in people treated with antibiotics that kill Parabacteroides goldsteinii.

As far as I know, no such effect has been observed.

And this article claims inflamation from that strain, the NIH claims otherwise: "Parabacteroides goldsteinii is a next-generation probiotic gut bacterium with significant anti-inflammatory and metabolic benefits, often reduced in obese or diseased states. "

reply
vidarh
1 hour ago
[-]
It's possible the specifics are different but that the overall idea still could work for humans. It seems worth at least exploring.
reply
theusus
1 hour ago
[-]
Mice mice mice. Tell me when you test on humans
reply
maxall4
1 hour ago
[-]
I smell bad data. This sounds too good to be true and most studies of this kind have turned out to be false a few years down the line.

Edit: one of many examples: https://www.science.org/content/article/journal-retracts-inf...

reply
IshKebab
22 minutes ago
[-]
It doesn't seem to link to any data at all so we can't check, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if they used the "standard" P=0.05.

I think for something this unexpected you'd want a much lower P.

reply