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Cited by 105Tryptophan and brain disordersGut microbiota and healthStress Responses and Cortisol

Ingestion of mycobacterium vaccae decreases anxiety-related behavior and improves learning in mice

Matthews, Dorothy M., Jenks, Susan M.·2013·Behavioural Processes
DOI 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.02.007
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Abstract

Coevolution of microbes and their hosts has resulted in the formation of symbiotic relationships that enable animals to adapt to their environments and protect themselves against pathogens. Recent studies show that contact with tolerogenic microbes is important for the proper functioning of immunoregulatory circuits affecting behavior, emotionality and health. Few studies have examined the potential influence of ambient bacteria, such as Mycobacterium vaccae on the gut-brain-microbiota axis. In this preliminary research, we show that mice fed live M. vaccae prior to and during a maze learning task demonstrated a reduction in anxiety-related behaviors and maze completion time, when tested at three maze difficulty levels over 12 trials for four weeks. Treated mice given M. vaccae in their reward completed the maze twice as fast as controls, and with reduced anxiety-related behaviors. In a consecutive set of 12 maze trials without M. vaccae exposure, treated mice continued to run the maze faster for the first three trials, and with fewer errors overall, suggesting a treatment persistence of about one week. Following a three-week hiatus, a final maze run revealed no differences between the experimentals and controls. Additionally, M. vaccae-treated mice showed more exploratory head-dip behavior in a zero maze, and M. vaccae treatment did not appear to affect overall activity levels as measured by activity wheel usage. Collectively, our results suggest a beneficial effect of naturally delivered, live M. vaccae on anxiety-related behaviors and maze performance, supporting a positive role for ambient microbes in the immunomodulation of animal behavior.

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  • Administering Mycobacterium vaccae as a probiotic or vaccine to young adult mice improved behavior, learning, and memory during cognitive testing, confirming the role of the immune and serotonergic systems in microbiota-gut-brain pathways.

    “Administering Mycobacterium vaccae, a transient commensal microbe, as a probiotic or vaccine to young adult mice improved behavior, learning, and memory during cognitive testing, confirming the role of the immune and serotonergic systems in MGB pathways (388, 389).”

    From Signalling cognition: The gut microbiota and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (2023) · cites this paper as [388]

  • Probiotics increase exploratory behavior in rodents under varied conditions, including after dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis.

    “Probiotics have also been shown to increase exploratory behavior in rodents under varied conditions [28–30] including probiotic treatment after dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis [31].”

    From The Gut Microbiota and Dysbiosis in Autism Spectrum Disorders (2018) · cites this paper as [28]

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Authors
Matthews, D. M., & Jenks, S. M.
Affiliations
Sage Colleges (US)
Corresponding author
Matthews, Dorothy M.
ORCID
Jenks, Susan M.
Venue
Behavioural Processes
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-06
Volume
96
Pages
27-35
ISSN
0376-6357 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.beproc.2013.02.007
OpenAlex
W1998252473
Cited by
105
References
56
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 3
FWCI
3.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Behavioural Processes (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Keywords
Mycobacterium vaccae, anxiety-like behavior, spatial learning, maze learning, gut-brain-microbiota axis, immunomodulation, exploratory behavior
MeSH terms
Animals, Anxiety, Behavior, Animal, Exploratory Behavior, Male, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Mycobacterium, Reward, Maze Learning, Mice

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