Chronic stress can inflame the gut — now scientists know why
- NEWS
- 25 May 2023
Signals originating in the brain make their way to gut nerve cells, leading to a release of inflammatory chemicals.
By
- Saima Sidik
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
- [Email](mailto:?subject=Chronic stress can inflame the gut — now scientists know why&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fd41586-023-01700-y)
Psychological stress is known to worsen the gut inflammation caused by certain bowel diseases. Now scientists have found out why. New research1 outlines a sweeping narrative that begins with chemical cues produced in the brain and ends with immune cells in the gut — a sequence that spells trouble for people with these conditions.
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
24,99 € / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
199,00 € per year
only 3,90 € per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Additional access options:
Nature 618, 221-222 (2023)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01700-y
References
- Schneider, K. M. et al. Cell https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.05.001 (2023).
Related Articles
[
Guardians of the brain: how a special immune system protects our grey matter](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01502-8)[
Gut feeling yields evidence of microbial involvement in autoimmunity](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01837-8)[
Your brain could be controlling how sick you get — and how you recover](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00509-z)[
Brain-cell growth keeps mood disorders at bay](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02210-z)
Subjects
Latest on:
[
Innate immunity in neurons makes memories persist
News & Views27 MAR 24](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00679-4)[![Formation of memory assemblies through the DNA-sensing TLR9 pathway](https://media.nature.com/w140h79/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41586-024-07220-7/MediaObjects/41586_2024_7220_Fig1_HTML.png)\
Formation of memory assemblies through the DNA-sensing TLR9 pathway
Article27 MAR 24](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07220-7)[![A brainstem–hypothalamus neuronal circuit reduces feeding upon heat exposure](https://media.nature.com/w140h79/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41586-024-07232-3/MediaObjects/41586_2024_7232_Fig1_HTML.png)\
A brainstem–hypothalamus neuronal circuit reduces feeding upon heat exposure
Article27 MAR 24](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07232-3)
[
Video: Cancer-busting vaccines
Outline27 MAR 24](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00842-x)[![Cancer-vaccine trials give reasons for optimism](https://images.nature.com/w140h79/magazine-assets/d41586-024-00840-z/d41586-024-00840-z_26871262.jpg)\
Cancer-vaccine trials give reasons for optimism
Outline27 MAR 24](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00840-z)[![How does a cancer vaccine work?](https://images.nature.com/w140h79/magazine-assets/d41586-024-00841-y/d41586-024-00841-y_26871318.jpg)\
How does a cancer vaccine work?
Outline27 MAR 24](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00841-y)
[
Innate immunity in neurons makes memories persist
News & Views27 MAR 24](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00679-4)[![Memories are made by breaking DNA — and fixing it](https://images.nature.com/w140h79/magazine-assets/d41586-024-00930-y/d41586-024-00930-y_26894036.jpg)\
Memories are made by breaking DNA — and fixing it
News27 MAR 24](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00930-y)[![Ketamine is in the spotlight thanks to Elon Musk — but is it the right treatment for depression?](https://images.nature.com/w140h79/magazine-assets/d41586-024-00852-9/d41586-024-00852-9_26881476.jpg)\
Ketamine is in the spotlight thanks to Elon Musk — but is it the right treatment for depression?
News Explainer20 MAR 24](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00852-9)
Jobs
Join Us and Create a Bright Future Together!
Shanghai, China
East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST)
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, Japan) calls for outstanding researchers who can drive world-class research in materials science.
Tsukuba, Japan (JP)
National Institute for Materials Science
To develop an innovative and internationally competitive research program, to contribute to educational activities and to provide expert advice.
Belgium (BE)
Institute of Tropical Medicine
We search the candidate for the subproject "P2: targeting cardiac macrophages" as part of the DFG-funded Research Training Group "GRK 2989: Targeti...
Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen (DE)
Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V.
At our location in Dortmund we invite applications for a DFG-funded project. This project will aim to structurally and spatially resolve the altere...
Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen (DE)
Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V.