The contents of bacteria in the stomach can determine whether a person will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from infancy to late adolescence in humans, according to a new study out of Reichman University in Herzliya. The microbial profile was found to be one of the factors involved in developing PTSD and it outlines the characteristics linked with resilience, following exposure to trauma. “These findings can serve as a basis for developing microbiome-focused treatments,” the authors wrote.
The new research demonstrated for the first time that the gut microbiome can determine the gut’s bacteria profile and so can assist it in predicting the likelihood of , said Reichman Prof. Ruth Feldman, director of the Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience and the Simms-Mann chair on the developing brain at the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology. This study is the first to successfully link the specific characteristics of the microbiome and the development of verses to the consolidation of resilience.
The study involved cross-species validation in . Stool samples were collected from participants in their late stages of adolescence (16 to 17 years old), along with samples from their mothers. The study included comparing participants who were exposed to chronic trauma, linked to growing up in Sderot and the Gaza Envelope, to a matched control group of mother-child pairs who were not exposed to war-related trauma.
Notably, this study was conducted before October 7 oc.