Part I: Basic Concepts Underlying the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis -- Microbial Endocrinology and the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis -- Utilizing “omics” Tools to Study the Complex Gut Ecosystem -- The Enteric Nervous System and Gastrointestinal Innervation: Integrated Local and Central Control -- Intestinal Barrier Function and the Brain-Gut Axis -- Vagal Pathways for Microbiome-Brain-Gut Axis Communication -- The Brain-Gut Axis in Health and Disease -- Part II: Mechanistic Factors Influencing the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis -- Gastrointestinal Hormones and Their Targets -- Microbiome, HPA Axis and Production of Endocrine Hormones in the Gut -- Neuropeptides and the Microbiota‑Gut‑Brain Axis -- Bacterial Neuroactive Compounds Produced by Psychobiotics -- Multidirectional Chemical Signalling Between Mammalian Hosts, Resident Microbiota, and Invasive Pathogens:  Neuroendocrine Hormone-Induced Changes in Bacterial Gene Expression -- Influence of Stressor-Induced Nervous System Activation on the Intestinal Microbiota and the Importance for Immunomodulation -- Part III: The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis in Health and Disease -- The Effects of Inflammation, Infection and Antibiotics on the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis -- Microbiota, Inflammation and Obesity -- Microbiota, Immunoregulatory Old Friends and Psychiatric Disorders -- Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis and Cognitive Function -- The Impact of Microbiota on Brain and Behavior: Mechanisms & Therapeutic Potential -- Neuroimaging the Microbiome-Gut–Brain Axis -- The Future of Probiotics for Disorders of the Brain-Gut Axis -- Index.

The field of microbial endocrinology is expressly devoted to understanding the mechanisms by which the microbiota (bacteria within the microbiome) interact with the host (“us”). This interaction is a two-way street and the driving force that governs these interactions are the neuroendocrine products of both the host and the microbiota. Chapters include neuroendocrine hormone-induced changes in gene expression and microbial endocrinology and probiotics. This is the first in a series of books dedicated to understanding how bi-directional communication between host and bacteria represents the cutting edge of translational medical research, and hopefully identifies new ways to understand the mechanisms that determine health and disease.