Abstract
Food addiction (FA) is characterized by behavioral and neurochemical changes linked to loss of food intake control. Gut microbiota may influence appetite and food intake via endocrine and neural routes. The gut microbiota is known to impact homeostatic energy mechanisms, but its role in regulating the reward system is less certain. We show that the administration of Bacteroides uniformis CECT 7771 (B. uniformis) in a rat FA model impacts on the brain reward response, ameliorating binge eating and decreasing anxiety-like behavior. These effects are mediated, at least in part, by changes in the levels of dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline in the nucleus accumbens and in the expression of dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in the prefrontal cortex and intestine. B. uniformis reverses the fasting-induced microbiota changes and increases the abundance of species linked to healthy metabolotypes. Our data indicate that microbiota-based interventions might help to control compulsive overeating by modulating the reward response.