Abstract
Objectives: Disturbances in the gut–brain barrier play an essential role in the development of mental disorders. There is considerable evidence showing that the gut microbiome not only affects digestive, metabolic and immune functions of the host but also regulates host sleep and mental states through the microbiota–gut–brain axis. The present review summarizes the role of the gut microbiome in the context of circadian rhythms, nutrition and sleep in psychiatric disorders. Methods: A PubMed search (studies published between April 2015–April 2020) was conducted with the keywords: “sleep, microbiome and psychiatry”; “sleep, microbiome and depression”; “sleep, microbiome and bipolar disorder”, “sleep, microbiome and schizophrenia”, “sleep, microbiome and anorexia nervosa”, “sleep, microbiome and substance use disorder”, “sleep, microbiome and anxiety”; “clock gene expression and microbiome”, “clock gene expression and nutrition”. Only studies investigating the relationship between sleep and microbiome in psychiatric patients were included in the review. Results: Search results yielded two cross-sectional studies analyzing sleep and gut microbiome in 154 individuals with bipolar disorder and one interventional study analyzing the effect of fecal microbiota transplantation in 17 individuals with irritable bowel syndrome on sleep. In patients with bipolar disorder, Faecalibacterium was significantly associated with improved sleep quality scores and a significant correlation between Lactobacillus counts and sleep. Conclusion: Translational research on this important field is limited and further investigation of the bidirectional pathways on sleep and the gut microbiome in mood disorders is warranted.
Highlights
The aim of this review was to summarize the role of the gut microbiome in the context of circadian rhythms, nutrition and sleep disturbances in psychiatric disorders
Animal-based protein has been associated with an increase in trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) that contributes to cardiovascular disease progression and a reduction in short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production
Unsaturated fats appear to influence the growth of intestinal bacteria (e.g., Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria, Akkermansia muciniphila) that are associated with reduced inflammation in white adipose tissue (WAT) and toll-like receptor (TLR)
Summary
Sleep is necessary for recovery from physical and mental illness, but is essential for a range of brain functions such as neural cell growth, synaptogenesis and memory function [1]. In a recent meta-analysis, insomnia was identified as an important predictor for the onset of depression, Nutrients 2020, 12, 2198; doi:10.3390/nu12082198 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients. Nutrients 2020, 12, 2198 anxiety, alcohol abuse and psychosis representing the vital importance of sleep for mental wellbeing [2]. The molecular underpinning of sleep is still not completely revealed and little is known about the bidirectional relationship between the microbiota–gut–brain axis (MGBA) and sleep in psychiatric disorders. The current review will give an overview on the neurobiological background of the circadian system and the MGBA in the context of sleep and psychiatric disorders with the focus on chronobiology and biochemistry.
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