Repeated exposure to antibiotics exhibits anxiety-like behaviors with a reduction in neurogenesis in the ventral hippocampus of dentate gyrus.

Disruption of gut microbiota balance is known to contribute to the development of anxiety; however, it remains unclear whether dysbiosis-induced anxiety involves the glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β)/cAMP response element binding protein (CREB)/brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) pathway and neurogenesis in the ventral hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). In this study, Male ddY mice were administered an antibacterial cocktail to induce dysbiosis. The dysbiosis model displayed anxiety-like behaviors in the hole-board and elevated plus-maze tests, decreased the phosphorylation levels of GSK-3β (Ser9) and CREB, decreased the expression level of BDNF in the ventral hippocampus, and reduced neurogenesis in the ventral hippocampal DG. This suggests that dysbiosis-induced anxiety-like behaviors are associated with reduced neurogenesis in the ventral hippocampal DG via the GSK-3β/CREB/BDNF pathway.