For centuries, treating neurological conditions meant developing therapies or drugs that directly targeted the brain.

Today, scholars like medical microbiologist Professor Sarkis Mazmanian argue that research, drugs and therapy should actually focus on the gut.

Professor Sarkis explains that the gut and brain have a unique connection that allows for communication past the brain’s main line of defense — the blood brain barrier.

Many molecules that cross over the blood brain barrier are created by the gut microbiome, meaning that the brain and gut directly influence one another.