If psychedelics heal, how do they do it?

Gut microbiota may play a role in social anxiety disorder (SAD), a disabling condition marked by intense fear and avoidance of social situations. In mice, altering the gut microbiome affected social anxiety-like behaviors, suggesting that the microbiota-gut-brain axis could be a target for developing new treatments. The findings indicate that biological mechanisms involving gut bacteria contribute to SAD, offering a potential avenue for novel therapeutic strategies beyond current approaches.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Understanding the biological basis of social anxiety disorder (SAD), one of the most disabling of the anxiety disorders, will allow for novel treatment strategies to be developed. Here, we show that gut microbiota may be such a target. Mice ...Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a crippling psychiatric disorder characterized by intense fear or anxiety in social situations and their avoidance. However, the underlying biology of SAD is unclear and better treatments are needed. Recently, the gut ...