Mind Over Faecal Matter: Gut Biome & Mental Health (Short)
Channel: The Royal Society of Victoria
Date: 2019-09-04

We have a ‘second brain’ in our gut that regulates the digestion and movement of our food from one end of the gastrointestinal tract to the other. Our gut brain and main brain are connected, working together to regulate our mood, behaviour and mental health. 

People with autism often suffer from gut problems, but nobody has really established the reason for this - until now. The interdisciplinary collaboration of neuroscientist A/Prof Elisa Hill-Yardin (RMIT University) and microbiologist A/Prof Ashley Franks (La Trobe University) has discovered a range of gene mutations – found both in the brain and the gut – could be the cause.

Recorded 8 August, 2019 at the Royal Society of Victoria. Filmed and edited by Robert Cross; interview by Mike Flattley.

Full lecture presentation available from https://youtu.be/eavpncmtBsQ .