Emeran Mayer
Emeran Mayer is a UCLA gastroenterologist, neuroscientist, author, and founding director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, as well as director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience. His public work focuses on brain-gut-microbiome interactions, stress, digestive disorders, nutrition, and mind-body health.
Gut-Brain Research Is Recasting Parkinson’s, GLP-1s, and Microbiome Care
At an Aspen Ideas: Health live recording of Science Friday, gastroenterologists Trisha Pasricha and Emeran Mayer argued that the gut-brain connection is not a wellness slogan or a simple two-way pipe between organs. They described a broader brain-gut-microbiome system in which the enteric nervous system, vagus nerve, microbes, immune signaling, hormones, diet and stress interact — a model they said is reshaping how clinicians think about Parkinson’s disease, GLP-1 drugs, mental health, probiotics and early-life development.
Gut-Brain Signaling Is Reshaping Models of Parkinson’s and Chronic Disease
Gastroenterologist Trisha Pasricha and brain-gut researcher Emeran Mayer argue that the gut should be understood as an active nervous, hormonal, microbial, and immune system in continuous communication with the brain, not as digestive plumbing. In a live Science Friday discussion at Aspen Ideas: Health, they make the case that this bidirectional system may reshape how clinicians think about Parkinson’s disease, GLP-1 drugs, diet, mental health, and early-life development, while warning that much of the consumer “gut health” market has moved faster than the evidence.