Microbes and the Mind: How Bacteria Shape Affect, Neurological Processes, Cognition, Social Relationships, Development, and Pathology

Abstract

Recent data suggest that the human body is not so exclusively human after all. Specifically, humans share their bodies with approximately 10 trillion microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiome. Chief among these microbes are bacteria, and there is a growing consensus that they are critical to virtually all facets of normative functioning. This article reviews the ways in which bacteria shape affect, neurological processes, cognition, social relationships, development, and psychological pathology. To date, the vast majority of research on interactions between microbes and humans has been conducted by scientists outside the field of psychology, despite the fact that psychological scientists are experts in many of the topics being explored. This review aims to orient psychological scientists to the most relevant research and perspectives regarding the microbiome so that we might contribute to the now widespread, interdisciplinary effort to understand the relationship between microbes and the mind.