dc.contributor.advisor |
Sollers, J |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Kieser, Anel |
en |
dc.date.accessioned |
2017-02-26T20:26:57Z |
en |
dc.date.issued |
2017 |
en |
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2292/31970 |
en |
dc.description |
Full text is available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland only. |
en |
dc.description.abstract |
Recent insights into gut health has led to an increased awareness regarding the role of gut microbiota in supporting and maintaining physiological and psychological health. Most of the previous literature on probiotics has been assessed within animal studies, however recently a large number of human clinical trials have been conducted especially in patients suffering from pathological gut conditions. In these cases, probiotics have been shown to alleviate symptoms associated with gastrointestinal distress and also improve cognitive processing, emotional regulation and psychological functioning. Probiotic supplementation is therefore a promising alternative treatment however more rigorous and systematic research is needed. One key area which to our knowledge has not yet been assessed, is the duration of supplementation needed in order for any health benefits to occur. The present study was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled experiment that assessed autonomic, affective and psychological responses from 48 healthy participants (n = 37 females) who either took a probiotic or placebo (n = 24 respectively) prior to completing a laboratory stress protocol. Results suggested that a single dose of probiotics did not produce any statistically significant effects on our measures. Importantly however, results showed that greater autonomic regulatory capacity at baseline (as assessed by greater heart rate variability) was associated with increased subjective reports of anxiety following the stressor, and that this was only true for those who had ingested a probiotic. This suggested that a single dose of probiotics may positively affect the parasympathetic system, thereby improving autonomic regulation and promoting situationally advantageous and adaptive behaviours. Overall these findings demonstrate that a single dose of probiotics may not have easily measurable health benefits however, it does appear that acutely, probiotic ingestion may affect HRV and hence vagal outflow. This suggests that probiotics may positively influence feedback pathways which may promote more advantageous situational responding. Future research needs to replicate and extend our findings in order to assess the true time-course of probiotic supplementation that is needed in order to achieve the well-publicised health benefits. |
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dc.publisher |
ResearchSpace@Auckland |
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dc.relation.ispartof |
Masters Thesis - University of Auckland |
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dc.relation.isreferencedby |
UoA99264907809602091 |
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dc.rights |
Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |
en |
dc.rights |
Restricted Item. Available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland. |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/ |
en |
dc.title |
A Gut Feeling: Do Probiotics Have an Acute Effect? |
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dc.type |
Thesis |
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thesis.degree.discipline |
Health Psychology |
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thesis.degree.grantor |
The University of Auckland |
en |
thesis.degree.level |
Masters |
en |
dc.rights.holder |
Copyright: The author |
en |
pubs.elements-id |
614967 |
en |
pubs.record-created-at-source-date |
2017-02-27 |
en |
dc.identifier.wikidata |
Q112272286 |
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