Gut microbiota regulates epigenetic remodelling in the amygdala: A role in repeated mild traumatic brain injury (rMTBI)-induced anxiety

Anxiety is the most common hallmark of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We have previously reported that repeated mild traumatic brain injuries (rMTBI) cause gut dysbiosis owing to a reduction in the population of butyrate-producing bacterial families (Matharu et al., 2019). The current study investigates role of epigenetic remodelling in the amygdala for anxiety behaviour. rMTBI induced anxiety was co-morbid with gut- microbiota dysbiosis and aberrant synaptic plasticity in the amygdala. We investigated gut probiosis interventions with whole fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) and single strain probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG).