Oxytocin and the microbiome

The equilibrium between host animals and their microbiota has been convincingly linked with overall host health. Numerous reports describe beneficial effects of probiotic microbiota on the health of humans and other species extending to improved immune functions, wound repair capacity, metabolism, and psychiatry. Among candidate unifying host effector molecules is oxytocin, a neuropeptide hormone related to sociability and a sense of physical...