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Arnaud Cocaul (Medical nutritionist)
The link between intestinal microbiota and the brain is increasingly being studied by researchers. Their latest discovery? The impact of gut bacteria on intelligence. The explanations of Dr Arnaud Cocaul, nutritionist.
The intestinal microbiota and the bacteria that compose it have consequences for our health. Links are regularly brought to light by researchers between these micro-organisms that inhabit our digestive tract and other organs, in particular the brain. How can the intestinal microbiota influence it?
A study that focuses on “fluid intelligence”
For this work, the German scientists used data from tests taken by a group of 40 people aged 26 on average, all in good health. In this cohort, two-thirds of the participants were women.
The volunteers were subjected to a computerized test at home. The researchers thus collected the data by particularly targeting fluid intelligence, ie the “ability to process and learn new information and to solve problems”.
NO to diets, YES to WW!
People with certain bacteria had better results
Results: Participants with bacterial flora dominated by Ruminococcaceae and Coriobacteriaceae bacteria obtained the best results in fluid intelligence tests. According to Professor Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, “This is a small study that suggests a link between certain microbes and intelligence. It shows the huge potential of diet to influence our brain via our microbes.”
The opinion of Dr Arnaud Cocaul, nutritionist
“The existence of an intestine-brain axis no longer needs to be demonstrated today. We know that the two entities are linked and communicate in particular via the vagus nerve. It is therefore quite possible that one influences the other and in this case that the composition of the intestinal microbiota plays a role in cognition. This would mean that a diet that is poorer in nutrients would cause certain cognitive disorders, for example. This is something that seems more and more probable, even if additional studies must still be carried out to formally prove this link”.