We like our stories neat, with good guys in white hats and bad guys in black, but nature scoffs at our binary plot lines. An important and timely example of our tendency to oversimplify is antibiotic use. Antibiotics are amazing life-savers, but they are not without side-effects. For one thing, they can have a surprising impact on our brain.

Hal and Ava talk about this unexpected complexity with Antibiotics.

References

Butler, Mary I., Kiran Sandhu, John F. Cryan, and Timothy G. Dinan. “From Isoniazid to Psychobiotics: The Gut Microbiome as a New Antidepressant Target.” British Journal of Hospital Medicine (London, England: 2005) 80, no. 3 (March 2, 2019): 139–45.

Gur, Tamar L., Brett L. Worly, and Michael T. Bailey. “Stress and the Commensal Microbiota: Importance in Parturition and Infant Neurodevelopment.” Frontiers in Psychiatry 6 (2015).

Stilling, Roman M., Seth R. Bordenstein, Timothy G. Dinan, and John F. Cryan. “Friends with Social Benefits: Host-Microbe Interactions as a Driver of Brain Evolution and Development?” Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 4 (2014): 147.

Bhattacharyya, Shamik, Richard Darby, Pooja Raibagkar, Luis Gonzalez Castro, and Aaron Berkowitz. “Antibiotic-Associated Encephalopathy: A Comprehensive Review of 391 Reported Cases (P3.383).” Neurology 86, no. 16 Supplement (April 5, 2016): P3.383.

Grill, Marie F, and Rama K Maganti. “Neurotoxic Effects Associated with Antibiotic Use: Management Considerations.” British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 72, no. 3 (September 2011): 381–93.

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