The gut-brain axis in personalised mental healthcare

1. Signalling from the brain to the gut affects:

2. Which of the following mechanisms are not involved in gut-brain communication?

3. Toll-like receptors on epithelial and immune cells are stimulated by cellular components from the gut and are important receptors leading to the gut-immune response. True or false?

4. Dysbiosis is associated with which of the following mental health conditions?

5. The main environmental factors affecting the microbiota in the first few years of life are:

6. Prenatal and postnatal maternal dysbiosis may affect the infant’s brain development. True or false?

7. In elderly frail patients with diabetes and cardiac abnormalities, the number of taxa in the gut microbiome is:

8. Which of the following statements is correct? Probiotics have proven beneficial effects in:

9. Probiotics reduce the symptom severity in a variety of immune-associated gastrointestinal tract conditions such as:

10. In a study of depression and anxiety post-partum, which of the following Lactobacillus species was associated with benefit?

11. The term ‘psychobiotics’ refers to a number of known probiotics that have shown beneficial effects in alleviating symptoms of mental ill health such as depression and anxiety. True or false?

12. In a study of adults with irritable bowel syndrome and mild depression/anxiety, functional magnetic resonance imaging resulted in:

13. In the study reporting psychological benefits in irritable bowel syndrome, for how long were patients treated?

14. In the above study, which areas of the brain were associated with a reduced response to negative stimuli?

15. Probiotics are associated with beneficial effects in patients with mild depression. True or false?