Microbiota regulate social behaviour via stress response neurons in the brain

Social interactions among animals mediate essential behaviours, including mating, nurturing, and defence(1,2). The gut microbiota contribute to social activity in mice(3,4), but the gut-brain connections that regulate this complex behaviour and its underlying neural basis are unclear(5,6). Here we show that the microbiome modulates neuronal activity in specific brain regions of male mice to regulate canonical stress responses and social behaviours. Social deviation in germ-free and antibiotic-treated mice is associated with elevated levels of the stress hormone corticosterone, which is primarily produced by activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Adrenalectomy, antagonism of glucocorticoid receptors, or pharmacological inhibition of corticosterone synthesis effectively corrects social deficits following microbiome depletion. Genetic ablation of glucocorticoid receptors in specific brain regions or chemogenetic inactivation of neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus that produce corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) reverse social impairments in antibiotic-treated mice. Conversely, specific activation of CRH-expressing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus induces social deficits in mice with a normal microbiome. Via microbiome profiling and in vivo selection, we identify a bacterial species, Enterococcus faecalis, that promotes social activity and reduces corticosterone levels in mice following social stress. These studies suggest that specific gut bacteria can restrain the activation of the HPA axis, and show that the microbiome can affect social behaviours through discrete neuronal circuits that mediate stress responses in the brain.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that microbiome modulates neuronal activity in specific brain regions of male mice to regulate stress responses and social behaviors. Social deviations in germ-free or antibiotic-treated mice are associated with elevated corticosterone levels, primarily produced by activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.