Of bowels, brain and behavior: A role for the gut microbiota in psychiatric comorbidities in irritable bowel syndrome

Background The gastrointestinal microbiota has emerged as a key regulator of gut‐brain axis signalling with important implications for neurogastroenterology. There is continuous bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain facilitated by neuronal, endocrine, metabolic, and immune pathways. The microbiota influences these signalling pathways via several mechanisms. Studies have shown compositional and functional alterations in the...