Language

English

Publication Date

1-1-2025

Journal

The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences

DOI

10.1176/appi.neuropsych.20240126

PMID

40134271

PMCID

PMC12650709

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

11-27-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Abstract

Objective: Through the brain-gut-microbiome axis, myriad psychological functions that affect behavior share a dynamic, bidirectional relationship with the intestinal microbiome. Little is known about the relationship between personality-a stable construct that influences social- and health-related behaviors-and the bacterial ecosystem. The authors of this exploratory study examined the relationship between general and maladaptive personality traits and the composition of the gut microbiome.

Methods: In total, 105 psychiatric inpatients provided clinical data and fecal samples. Personality traits were measured with the five-factor model of personality, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders, and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5; 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing and whole-genome shotgun sequencing methods were used on fecal samples. Machine learning (ML) was used to identify personality traits associated with bacterial variability and specific taxa.

Results: Supervised ML techniques were used to classify traits of social detachment (maximum area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC]=0.944, R2>0.20), perceptual disturbance (maximum AUROC=0.763, R2=0.301), and hoarding behaviors (maximum AUROC=0.722) by using limited sets of discriminant bacterial species or genera. Established bacterial genera associated with psychosis (e.g., Peptococcus and Coprococcus) were associated with traits of perceptual disturbance. Hoarding behaviors were associated with a defined gut microbial composition that included Streptococcus, a known contributor to the development of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders.

Conclusions: Observations from this study are consistent with recent findings demonstrating person-to-person interactions as a mode of gut microbiome transmission. This study adds to the emerging literature on the intricate connections between brain and gut function, expanding the interdisciplinary field of psychiatric microbiology.

Keywords

Humans, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Male, Female, Adult, Middle Aged, Inpatients, Personality, Mental Disorders, Machine Learning, Feces, Young Adult, Personality Disorders, personality, five factor model, PID-5, brain-gut-axis, gut microbiome, machine learning, psychiatric microbiology

Published Open-Access

yes

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