Episode 19: The gut-brain connection in children with Dr. Bridget Callaghan

Host: Cindy Hovington, Ph.D. Founder of Curious Neuron

Guest: Dr. Bridget Callaghan

Dr. Callaghan is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is the director of the Brain and Body Lab (BABLab), which opened in 2019. Before starting at UCLA, Bridget was a postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia University in New York, and completed her doctorate in Psychology and her training as a clinical psychologist at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Bridget has experience working with animal models of early adversity, as well as in behavioral, fMRI, and biological research within human populations. Scroll below to “resources” to read some of Dr. Callaghan’s research papers.

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Summary:

In today’s episode we discuss the connection between our brain and our gut. Have you ever had a “gut feeling” or butterflies in your stomach? Ever had an upset stomach when you were nervous? There really is a connection between our gut and our brain. In this episode we discuss whether probiotics are helpful to boost our gut health, how our microbiota is formed as infants, the link between mental health and our gut health and the role of diet in maintaining a healthy gut.

Key notes:

The gut microbiome refers to the bacteria, viruses, fungi that live in our body. We have some on our skin, some in our gut, nose, mouth, vagina etc.
We do need exposure to some “good germs” for our health and our baby’s health.
We need bacteria because we have co-evolved with them.
At birth, a child’s microbiota will vary depending if they are born from a C-section or through a vaginal birth. It plants the seed for the development of these microbiota across a child’s life.
Taking probiotics during pregnancy will not boost the fetus’s microbiota composition.
We produce sugars in our breast milk that can’t be digested by our baby. So it is pushed to the gut and it feeds the gut bacteria. It feeds and nurtures them!
When infants move to solid foods, you introduce new foods and different bacteria which least to a blossoming of many new bacteria in a baby.
There are some sources of bacteria in the environment that are ok for kids (pre-pandemic) . We should reserve hand washing before meals or when they touch something with more serious bacteria like shoes. However, if they are playing outside and playing with leaves or soil we could be more lenient.
Given the pandemic, our environments are much more steril. This may have an impact on a child’s microbiota.
A dog or pet can have an impact (positive) on the gut bacteria.
Probiotics are usually taken when there is a disruption in the gut.
Microbiota seems to be involved in learning and memory but this research is in its infancy and we can’t say for sure yet. There are some studies that have showed some changes in the brain when taking probiotics but these studies were in adults. So there is no evidence that giving kids probiotics can boost memory functions.
Probiotics that are over the counter are not the same as those prescribed by a doctor. If you would like to take probiotics for IBS, for instance, you should speak to your doctor and they will prescribe a specific strain of probiotics.
Did you know that our gut is linked to the brain? They produce neurochemicals that are important for our brain development.
If you have a diagnosis of depression or anxiety as an adult, you are much more likely to have gastrointestinal issues.
Adults with IBS are more likely to have depression or anxiety.
Gastrointestinal symptoms in children might be predictive of anxiety in children in the long run. This is not for all children, but it is something that we should be mindful of in children.