Gut Microbiota as a Therapeutic Target in Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Current status and future directions

In recent years, burgeoning preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that gut microbiota play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric diseases including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, neurodegenerative and autism spectrum disorders, etc. The plastic nature of the human microbiome makes it a novel therapeutic target in these neuropsychiatric disorders, and many current psychotropic medications (e.g. antipsychotic drugs, antidepressants) can easily alter the composition and function of the gut microflora to exert their therapeutic/adverse effects. For example, the evidence suggests that antipsychotic-induced gut dysbiosis is linked to impairment in metabolism and cognition, possibly through the following mechanisms: 1) disruption in inflammatory cytokine signaling; 2) changes in certain neurotransmitters; 3) interaction with diet. Meanwhile, the effects of modulating interventions, such as prebiotics, probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and other new treatment possibilities on these neuropsychiatric disorders have also become an evolving field in neuroscience.

This Research Topic welcomes leading experts in the field to submit their original studies on animal models or human subjects, and review articles that help understand the role of gut microbiota in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, reveal mechanisms underlying the pharmacological interactions between gut microbiota and available intervention strategies or describe new microbiota-oriented treatment possibilities that give further insights in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.

The sub-topics include, but are not limited to the following:
• The pathophysiological basis of the relationship between gut microbiota and neuropsychiatric disorder morbidity which reveals new pharmacological targets for treatment, including genetic- or physiology-based studies
• The pathophysiological basis of the relationship between gut microbiota and somatic comorbidities in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as obesity and diabetes, which are specifically associated with the side effects of certain psychotropic medicines
• Interventions to improve psychiatric symptoms, cognitive deficits, and metabolic anomalies by targeting gut microbiota
• Studies reporting the impact of currently available psychotropic medications/other interventions on gut microbiota, with regard to their new mechanisms of action
• New drug development, conceptual frameworks, or novel treatment possibilities that based on gut-microbiota regulation to enhance the treatment approaches in neuropsychiatric disorders.