Psychology Commons^™

Rumination And The Gut Microbiome:Effects Of A Brief Mindfulness Intervention, Moeka Kamiya

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Recent work has found relationships between the gut microbiota—the community of organisms that inhabit an animal’s digestive tract—and psychological health. In particular, the gut microbiota of individuals with depression shows a different genetic composition to those without depression. Thus, this study explored how rumination, a predictor of depression, and gut microbiota composition are correlated to detect possible gut microbiota alterations present before depression develops. This study also examined whether a brief mindfulness mobile application intervention, which has been shown to reduce rumination, can increase beneficial bacteria abundance and decrease pathogenic bacteria abundance. Participants were 16 first-year students. They engaged in …