Understanding the interrelationship between the gut microbiota and host physiology, although still in its relative infancy, has taken important steps forward over the past decade. In the context of brain disorders including those characterized by neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative changes there have been important advances. However, initially research involved correlational analyses, had limited translational scope, and lacked functional assessments. Thus, largescale longitudinal clinical investigations that assess causation and underlying mechanisms via in depth analysis methods are needed. In neurodegeneration research, strong causal evidence now links the gut microbiome to Alzheimer's (AD), and Parkinson's Disease (PD), as supported by human-to-animal transplantation studies. Longitudinal interventions are being conducted in AD, PD, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, and multiple sclerosis. Neurodevelopmental research has also seen a boon in microbiome-related clinical research including in autism, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and schizophrenia, which is confirming prior animal model work regarding the key time-windows in the gut microbiome important for infant cognition. While recent research advances represent important progress, fundamental knowledge gaps and obstacles remain. Knowing how and why the gut microbiome changes at the extremes of life will develop our mechanistic understanding and help build the evidence base as we strive toward counteracting microbial missteps with precision therapeutic interventions.

中文翻译：

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不仅仅是一个数字：肠道微生物群和大脑功能在生命的极端情况下。


了解肠道微生物群与宿主生理学之间的相互关系，尽管仍处于相对起步阶段，但在过去十年中已经向前迈出了重要的一步。在脑部疾病（包括以神经发育和神经退行性变化为特征的脑部疾病）的背景下，已经取得了重要进展。然而，最初的研究涉及相关性分析，翻译范围有限，并且缺乏功能评估。因此，需要通过深入分析方法评估因果关系和潜在机制的大规模纵向临床研究。在神经退行性变研究中，正如人与动物移植研究的支持的那样，现在有强有力的因果证据将肠道微生物组与阿尔茨海默病 （AD） 和帕金森病 （PD） 联系起来。正在对 AD、PD、肌萎缩侧索硬化症、亨廷顿病和多发性硬化症进行纵向干预。神经发育研究也看到了与微生物组相关的临床研究的福音，包括自闭症、注意力缺陷/多动障碍和精神分裂症，这证实了先前关于肠道微生物组中对婴儿认知很重要的关键时间窗口的动物模型工作。虽然最近的研究进展代表了重要的进步，但仍然存在基础知识差距和障碍。了解肠道微生物组在极端生命中如何以及为什么发生变化将发展我们的机制理解，并有助于在我们努力通过精准治疗干预来抵消微生物失误时建立证据基础。