Abstract
BackgroundThe microbial population of the human gut (the gut microbiome) is an integral cog in the bidirectional communication axis that exists between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. African American infants disproportionately experience multiple, overlapping vulnerabilities such as preterm birth and formula rather than breast feeding that may disrupt the development of the infant microbiome. African American infants also are more likely to have mothers affected by chronic stress both pre- and post-natally. Perhaps relatedly, African American offspring are disproportionately affected by neurodevelopmental delays. Taken together, these findings suggest that one important mechanism that may link prenatal and postnatal stress and African American infant brain development is the composition of the infant microbiome.MethodsIn our ongoing longitudinal study, Maternal Stress and the Gut-Brain Axis in African American Infants (R01MD009746), we investigate associations between maternal prenatal and postnatal stress and the composition of the infant gut microbiome, in relation to cognitive and social-emotional development. We aim to recruit 300 African American mother-infant dyads, contingent on the mother’s previous participation in an associated prenatal cohort study: Biobehavioral Determinants of the Microbiome and Preterm Birth in Black Women (R01NR014800). Following enrollment, we assess infants at 1-week, and 3-, 6-, 12-and 18-months to collect: standardized assessments of infant neurocognitive and social-emotional development; questionnaire measures of infant feeding and health; observational data on maternal-infant interactions; maternal reports of postnatal stress; blood and saliva samples to evaluate maternal and infant psychoneuroimmunologic (PNI) function; and infant stool samples to characterize acquisition and trajectory of gut microbiome composition. Genetic variants of the major histocompatibility complex that may influence gut microbiome composition are also being evaluated.DiscussionThis rich data set will allow future consideration of risk and protective factors that influence neurodevelopment in African American infants who are exposed to varying levels of prenatal and early life stress. Evidence for a mechanistic role of the microbiome would provide a framework for future clinical evaluations of preventative interventions (e.g., probiotics, culturally-appropriate breastfeeding campaigns) that could potentially improve the health and development of African American children in infancy and across the lifespan.
Highlights
The microbial population of the human gut is an integral cog in the bidirectional communication axis that exists between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system
Despite the burgeoning number of theoretical papers describing the microbiome and its potential role in infant neurodevelopment, there are only a handful of empirical studies that have tested the infant gut microbiome in association with prenatal stress and infant outcomes, and none that have examined these relationships in an African-American sample of infants. To address these knowledge gaps and assess the roles of stress, genetics, and the microbiome in neurodevelopment of African American infants, we have developed the Emory University African American Stress and Infant Gut Microbiome Cohort Study
Our study is the first to our knowledge to examine the associations between prenatal maternal prenatal stress and the infant gut microbiome, maternal-child stress hormone levels, and neurodevelopment; it is the first of its kind conducted in African American families
Summary
The microbial population of the human gut (the gut microbiome) is an integral cog in the bidirectional communication axis that exists between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. African American offspring are disproportionately affected by neurodevelopmental delays. Taken together, these findings suggest that one important mechanism that may link prenatal and postnatal stress and African American infant brain development is the composition of the infant microbiome. The gut microbiome may be an important link between our genes and exposure to psychosocial as well as environmental factors that influence susceptibility to neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes [5]. The microbiome-gut-brain Axis Initial evidence suggests that prenatal stress exposure is associated with changes to the infant gut microbiome [6], as well as the composition of the adult gut microbiome in humans [7, 8]. In a study of rhesus macaques, experimentally manipulated stress in the prenatal period was associated with a lower abundance of bacteria of genera Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus as well as increased rates of infection in the first six months of life [11]
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