Food for thought: Not just psychedelic | Fungi could be quietly influencing our brains
The fungi within our bodies might be having a larger effect than we realise.
Scientists are starting to shine a light on an unexpected factor in our mental health: fungi that live inside us.
These fungal communities, known as the mycobiome, make up only a tiny fraction of the total number of micro-organisms inside us, often less than 0.1%, but they could well be punching way above their weight when it comes to influencing the brain.
While many of the fungi that we consume from bread and beer, as well as those we breathe in, are quickly killed off by our immune systems, others are “transient passengers or lifelong acquaintances,” say the BBC.
Scientists have long known that fungi can cause often fatal brain infections in humans, and now they are “earnestly” investigating if some fungi inside us could in fact contribute to other serious conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, including if some fungi could “influence our behaviour and mental health.”
The warm temperature of our bodies usually stands in the way of potentially dangerous fungi reaching the brain. But in people with reduced immune systems, the likelihood of potential fungi-related problems could well be on the rise.
Scientists have indeed witnessed the fungus Candida albicans entering the brain after the immune systems of mice were compromised. Studies suggest that such fungi causes an infection with Alzheimer’s disease-like changes to those affected.
Other non-human animals are also known to be susceptible to fungal infections that influence behaviour it’s just a phenomenon lot harder to study in animals that live for longer periods.
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Despite the worries, the news is not all negative: microbiologist Matthew Olm of the University of Colorado Boulder, told the BBC that “I would say fungi are definitely a critical part of being a healthy human.”
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