The Gut-Brain Axis

Undergraduate / Graduate

This seminar course will take a deep dive into research exploring interactions between the gut microbiome and the brain, with a particular emphasis on the cellular and molecular neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie those interactions. Through class discussions of selected papers and critical analyses of primary data, students will develop insights into the relationships between the gut microbiome and brain development, synaptic plasticity, neuroinflammation, mental health, and neurodegenerative disease, among other areas. Students will also be prompted to consider the strengths and limitations of different methods used to study the gut-brain axis and propose future research directions using those (or related) methods. During many class sessions, students will work in small groups to prepare for and/or take turns leading discussions on assigned papers. Didactic instruction will be limited to establishing or expanding the conceptual foundation necessary to understand and carefully evaluate the assigned readings. At the end of the quarter, students will be asked to submit a short research proposal investigating questions on the gut-brain axis motivated and informed by their discussions and review of the literature.