Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Is Associated with Difficulty in Explicit Emotion Regulation in Young Children
Executive function (EF) consists of explicit emotion regulation (EER) and cognitive control (CC). Childhood EER in particular predicts mental and physical health in adulthood. Identifying factors affecting EER development has implications for lifelong physical and mental health. Gut microbiota (GM)...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/9/2245 |
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| author | Hideaki Fujihara Michiko Matsunaga Eriko Ueda Takamasa Kajiwara Aya K. Takeda Satoshi Watanabe Kairi Baba Keisuke Hagihara Masako Myowa |
| author_facet | Hideaki Fujihara Michiko Matsunaga Eriko Ueda Takamasa Kajiwara Aya K. Takeda Satoshi Watanabe Kairi Baba Keisuke Hagihara Masako Myowa |
| author_sort | Hideaki Fujihara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Executive function (EF) consists of explicit emotion regulation (EER) and cognitive control (CC). Childhood EER in particular predicts mental and physical health in adulthood. Identifying factors affecting EER development has implications for lifelong physical and mental health. Gut microbiota (GM) has attracted attention as a potential biomarker for risk of physical and mental problems in adulthood. Furthermore, GM is related to brain function/structure, which plays a crucial role in emotional processing. However, little is known about how GM compositions are associated with the development of emotion regulation in early childhood. Therefore, in this study, we examined 257 children aged 3–4 to investigate links between GM and risk to EF. EF was measured using the Mother-Reported Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function–Preschool version. GM composition (alpha/beta diversity and genus abundance) was evaluated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and compared between EF-risk and non-risk groups. Our results show that children with EER-risk (an index of inhibitory self-control) had a higher abundance of the genera <i>Actinomyces</i> and <i>Sutterella</i>. Although we have not established a direct link between GM and CC risk, our findings indicate that GM of preschoolers is closely associated with emotional processing and that EERrisk children have more inflammation-related bacteria. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:26:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4600e8da2cfe46e7a35cbc1344fcba45 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:26:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-4600e8da2cfe46e7a35cbc1344fcba452023-11-19T12:02:37ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072023-09-01119224510.3390/microorganisms11092245Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Is Associated with Difficulty in Explicit Emotion Regulation in Young ChildrenHideaki Fujihara0Michiko Matsunaga1Eriko Ueda2Takamasa Kajiwara3Aya K. Takeda4Satoshi Watanabe5Kairi Baba6Keisuke Hagihara7Masako Myowa8Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, JapanGraduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, JapanGraduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, JapanGraduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, JapanCykinso, Inc., 1-36-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0053, JapanCykinso, Inc., 1-36-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0053, JapanCykinso, Inc., 1-36-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0053, JapanDepartment of Advanced Hybrid Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 2 Chome-2 Yamadaoka, Suita 565-0871, JapanGraduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, JapanExecutive function (EF) consists of explicit emotion regulation (EER) and cognitive control (CC). Childhood EER in particular predicts mental and physical health in adulthood. Identifying factors affecting EER development has implications for lifelong physical and mental health. Gut microbiota (GM) has attracted attention as a potential biomarker for risk of physical and mental problems in adulthood. Furthermore, GM is related to brain function/structure, which plays a crucial role in emotional processing. However, little is known about how GM compositions are associated with the development of emotion regulation in early childhood. Therefore, in this study, we examined 257 children aged 3–4 to investigate links between GM and risk to EF. EF was measured using the Mother-Reported Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function–Preschool version. GM composition (alpha/beta diversity and genus abundance) was evaluated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and compared between EF-risk and non-risk groups. Our results show that children with EER-risk (an index of inhibitory self-control) had a higher abundance of the genera <i>Actinomyces</i> and <i>Sutterella</i>. Although we have not established a direct link between GM and CC risk, our findings indicate that GM of preschoolers is closely associated with emotional processing and that EERrisk children have more inflammation-related bacteria.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/9/2245gut microbiomeexecutive functionexplicit emotion regulationdietary habitspreschoolers |
| spellingShingle | Hideaki Fujihara Michiko Matsunaga Eriko Ueda Takamasa Kajiwara Aya K. Takeda Satoshi Watanabe Kairi Baba Keisuke Hagihara Masako Myowa Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Is Associated with Difficulty in Explicit Emotion Regulation in Young Children Microorganisms gut microbiome executive function explicit emotion regulation dietary habits preschoolers |
| title | Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Is Associated with Difficulty in Explicit Emotion Regulation in Young Children |
| title_full | Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Is Associated with Difficulty in Explicit Emotion Regulation in Young Children |
| title_fullStr | Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Is Associated with Difficulty in Explicit Emotion Regulation in Young Children |
| title_full_unstemmed | Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Is Associated with Difficulty in Explicit Emotion Regulation in Young Children |
| title_short | Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Is Associated with Difficulty in Explicit Emotion Regulation in Young Children |
| title_sort | altered gut microbiota composition is associated with difficulty in explicit emotion regulation in young children |
| topic | gut microbiome executive function explicit emotion regulation dietary habits preschoolers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/9/2245 |
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