Vol 9, No 3 (2024)
Original article
Published online: 2024-07-18
The fecal content of Veillonellaceae family bacteria correlates with cognitive parameters in young healthy human subjects
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DOI: 10.5603/mrj.100304
Medical Research Journal 2024;9(3):282-289.
Abstract
Introduction: Several lines of evidence suggest that the composition of gut microbiota influences the central
nervous system function. Previous studies demonstrated that gut microbiota composition can affect
the mood, anxiety and cognitive performance. However, most of the research was focused on the animal
models and older humans. Relatively limited number of reports examined the influence of gut microbiota
on cognitive functions in young, healthy human subjects.
Material and methods: We examined the influence of gut microbiota composition on cognitive performance in 30
volunteers (24 females and 6 males; mean age 22.53 ± 1.97 yr.). In order to evaluate the cognitive performance
in our subject we used three standard tests: Face/Name Association Test, Trial Making Test and Stroop Test. The
composition of intestinal microbiota was determined in fecal samples using 16S rDNA V3-V4 regions analysis.
Results: The study demonstrated that the proportion of Veillonellaceae bacteria (phylum Firmicutes) in the
subject’s fecal matter positive correlated with the results of one of the cognitive tests — Trial Making Test.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that bacteria from Veillonellaceae family may influence the level of some
cognitive functions (namely executive ones). Our results are consistent with previous studies describing
the potential impact of intestinal bacterial on cognitive performance.
Keywords: FirmicutesVeillonellaceaeexecutive functiongut microbiotagut-brain axisTrial Making Test
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