BOSTON - A new study supports the long-held belief that the gut and the brain are linked.
Researchers in Tokyo studied mice and found that the animals exposed to repeated emotional stress exhibited symptoms similar to irritable bowel syndrome, with abdominal cramps and diarrhea. The gastrointestinal effects lasted for at least a month. They did not notice the same changes when the mice were subjected to physical stress.
This research may help explain why patients with major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder often suffer from GI distress.
Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.