Skip to main content

REVIEW article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Gut-Brain Axis
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1488841
This article is part of the Research Topic The Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder View all 4 articles

Using Lifestyle Interventions and the Gut Microbiota to Improve PTSD Symptoms

Provisionally accepted
Steve Sugden Steve Sugden 1Gia Merlo Gia Merlo 2,3*
  • 1 University of Utah Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
  • 2 New York University, New York City, United States
  • 3 Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, New York, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Posttraumatic stress disorder is part of a spectrum of psychological symptoms that are frequently linked with a single defining traumatic experience. Symptoms can vary over the lifespan in intensity based on additional life stressors, individual stability, and connectedness to purpose. Historically, treatment has centered on psychotropic agents and individual and group therapy to increase the individual's window of tolerance, improve emotional dysregulation, and strengthen relationships. Unfortunately, there is a growing segment of individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder who do not respond to these traditional treatments, perhaps because they do not address the multidirectional relationships between chronic cortisol, changes in the brain gut microbiota system, neuroinflammation, and posttraumatic symptoms. We will review the literature and explain how trauma impacts the neuroendocrine and neuroimmunology within the brain, how these processes influence the brain gut microbiota system, and provide a mechanism for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms.Finally, we will show how the lifestyle psychiatry model provides symptom amelioration.

    Keywords: brain gut microbiota system, neuroplasticity, Mental Health, posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD, window of tolerance, Lifestyle Psychiatry, Neuroinflammation

    Received: 30 Aug 2024; Accepted: 04 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sugden and Merlo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Gia Merlo, New York University, New York City, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.