Section: C02
SHOULD WE TRUST OUR GUT?
question
How do the microbes that we consume affect our gut microbiomes and brain activity?
BACKGROUND
The food that we eat all contain microbes that can alter the microbes in our gut. Now,
it is a known fact that our gut microbes have an effect on our brain activity and can
even lead to a change in our mood. There is a communication bridge between the
digestive tract and the central nervous system in which microbiomes, specifically gut
microbes, interact with to influence brain activity. In this experiment, we will be
comparing dark and milk chocolates. By doing this, we will demonstrate first hand the
effect of diet on our brain activity. Beta waves (16-31 Hz) affect us when we are awake
and are closely linked to our emotional awareness. They are present during hunger,
depression, and moodiness. Beta waves make up most of our conscious mind. This
research project is significant because diabetes and obesity have become major
issues in our society. We are trying to prove that it is the microbes in our food that lead
to us eating more and resulting in these effects. Since we as a society hope to live a
better lifestyle in general, then this is significant.
EXPECTED RESULTS
We can deduce that there will be a greater change in brain
activity for dark chocolate as it contains more cocoa.
This means dark chocolate has greater effect on our gut microbiomes
than milk chocolate and our negative control (normal diet).
Group: B
4 out of 10 Americans do not care about what goes into their body.
METHODS
1. Feed 10 people milk chocolate, 10 dark chocolate, give 2. After that, collect everyone’s fecal sample and
10 a normal diet (no chocolate) and the other 10 a placebo. analyze the content of microbes.
3. Perform an EEG on all of the subjects within the next hour and look for
a correlation between the brain waves and the microbe content.
Author contribution
Chocolate’s addictive properties further reinforces Clifford Leung – I worked on half of the background portion and also developed a significance for this
research project. I also helped coming up with an idea for this project.
the fact that beta waves lead to more hunger. Sayyed Jilani – I worked on methods and developing possible outcomes/results from the experiments.
Karen Nguyen – I mainly worked on poster designing. I also helped out with researching the material,
particularly the background portion.
The cacao in chocolate will have an effect
REFERENCES
http://berkeleysciencereview.com/article/manipulative-microbes/
on our beta waves as that pattern is https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/08/116526/do-gut-bacteria-rule-our-minds
associated with hunger. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/06/gut-bacteria-on-the-brain/395918/
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cocoa-sweet-treat-brain-201502057676
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/12/08/gut-microbes-make-dark-chocolate-
healthy.aspx
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010829082943.htm
http://www.balboahorizons.com/brain-and-gut-connection/
http://www.fasebj.org/content/30/1_Supplement/679.14?cited-
by=yes&legid=fasebj%3B30%2F1_Supplement%2F679.14&trendmd-shared=0
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/gut-week-gut-brain-axis-can-fixing-my-stomach-fix-me/