Cited by 123Probiotics and Fermented FoodsGut microbiota and healthStress Responses and Cortisol

Stress matters: randomized controlled trial on the effect of probiotics on neurocognition

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Papalini, S., Michels, F., Kohn, N., Wegman, J., van Hemert, S., Roelofs, K., Arias-Vasquez, A., Aarts, E.·2019·Neurobiology of Stress

Abstract

Probiotics are microorganisms that provide health benefits when consumed. In animals, probiotics reverse gut microbiome-related alterations in depression-like symptoms, in cognition, and in hormonal stress response. However, in humans, a causal understanding of the gut-brain link in emotion and cognition is lacking. Additionally, whether the effects of probiotics on neurocognition are visible only in presence of stress, remains unclear. We investigated the effects of a multispecies probiotic (Ecologic®Barrier) on specific neurocognitive measures of emotion reactivity, emotion regulation, and cognitive control using fMRI. Critically, we also tested whether probiotics can buffer against the detrimental effects of acute stress on working memory. In a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, between-subjects intervention study, 58 healthy participants were tested once before and once after a 28-day intervention. Without stress induction, probiotics did not affect brain, behavioral, or related self-report measures. However, relative to placebo, the probiotics group did show a significant stress-related increase in working memory performance after supplementation. This change was associated with intervention-related neural changes in frontal cortex during cognitive control exclusively in the probiotics group. Overall, our results show neurocognitive effects of a multispecies probiotic in healthy women only under challenging situations, buffering against the detrimental effects of stress on cognition.

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  • In a randomized control trial, multispecies probiotic supplementation protected against the neurocognitive effects of acute stress in healthy women, as measured by neural changes in the frontal cortex using fMRI.

    “In a RCT, multispecies probiotic supplementation protected against the neurocognitive effects of acute stress in healthy women, as measured by neural changes in the frontal cortex using fMRI (471).”

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  1. Brett M. e. a. Region of interest analysis using the MarsBar toolbox [abstract] Paper Presented at 8th Interna- Tional Conference on Functional Mapping of the Human Brain, Sendai, Japan 2002

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Authors
Papalini, S., Michels, F., Kohn, N., Wegman, J., van Hemert, S., Roelofs, K., Arias-Vasquez, A., & Aarts, E.
Affiliations
Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
Corresponding author
Aarts, E.
Venue
Neurobiology of Stress
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-02
Volume
10
Pages
100141
ISSN
2352-2895 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2904762412
Cited by
123
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 2
FWCI
11.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neurobiology of Stress (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Lirias (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (057-14-001, 016.135.023)
  • European Research Council (StG2012_313749)
  • VICI (#453-12-001)
  • European Union’s Horizon 2020 (643051, 728018)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Keywords
probiotics, neurocognitive function, acute stress, working memory, cognitive control, emotion regulation, emotional reactivity, gut-brain axis, frontal cortex, stress buffering, healthy women

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