A probiotic mixture induces anxiolytic- and antidepressive-like effects in Fischer and maternally deprived Long Evans rats

A role of the gut microbiota in psychiatric disorders is supported by a growing body of literature. The effects of a probiotic mixture were studied in two models of anxiety and depression, naturally stress-sensitive Fischer rats and Long Evans rats subjected to maternal deprivation. Chronic administration of the tested probiotic mixture can beneficially affect anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in rats, possibly owing to changes in the levels of certain metabolites and in brain monoamines.