Postdoctoral researcher Marina Romaní, from the Microbiome and Innovation in Nutrition and Health group at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC), delivered a seminar titled “The dialogue between the gut and the brain through diet and microbiota.” During the session, she presented various advances on the influence of food and intestinal microorganisms on the interaction between these two organs.
Romaní explained how the gut-brain axis participates in regulating eating behavior and how certain factors during early life stages can condition an individual's relationship with food in adulthood. In this context, she presented results linking early stress and a maternal diet rich in fats and sugars to a greater motivation for consuming hypercaloric foods, as well as changes in brain circuits associated with reward.
The researcher also addressed the potential of the gut microbiota as a tool for improving metabolic health. Among the examples presented, she highlighted the role of Phascolarctobacterium faecium, a bacterium that in experimental models has shown the capacity to reduce food intake and prevent weight gain. She also explained advances in the study of Hodemanella biformis, which can reduce the glycemic response after ingestion through mechanisms related to the GLP-1 hormone. These results open new questions about the gut-brain axis's involvement in glucose control.
The talk also reviewed the pathways that enable communication between the gut and the brain, particularly through the enteric nervous system and the vagus nerve. Finally, she introduced new research lines on the relationship between diet, microbiota, nerve signaling, and chronic pain, expanding the study of this axis beyond metabolic health into other areas, such as mental health.
