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From conifers to cognition: Microbes, brain and behavior
Richard Lathe1, David St Clair2
1Division of Infection Medicine, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh, UK.
Genes, Brain, and Behavior
|June 10, 2020
Summary
Microbes like bacteria, viruses, and protozoans (endozoites) live in healthy mammalian tissues, including the brain. These endozoites are common and can influence health, disease, and even brain evolution.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
Background:
- Healthy plant tissues harbor endogenous microbes (endophytes).
- Recent discoveries reveal diverse bacteria, protozoans, and viruses (endozoites) within healthy mammalian tissues, including the brain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To overview the nature, prevalence, and role of endozoites in mammalian tissues, with a focus on the brain.
- To explore endozoite entry, persistence, tissue specificity, and their potential impact on host health.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of existing research on endozoites.
- Comparative analysis using plant endophytes as a precedent.
- Case examples including rabies virus, Herpesviridae, Coronaviridae, Toxoplasma, bacteria, and yeasts.
Main Results:
- Endozoites are ubiquitous in diverse mammalian tissues, often remaining subclinical but not inert.
- These microbes can cause long-term behavioral changes and immunosuppression.
- Endozoites are implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.
Conclusions:
- Endozoites play a crucial role in the health-disease balance, including age-related brain conditions.
- Endozoite infections may offer advantages and disadvantages to the host and ecosystem.
- Endozoites have significantly influenced the evolution of brain function and behavior.
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