Sex differences in gut microbiota modulation of aversive conditioning, open field activity, and basolateral amygdala dendritic spine density.

Gut microbiota influence numerous aspects of host biology, including brain structure and function. Growing evidence implicates gut microbiota in aversive conditioning and anxiety-related behaviors, but research has focused almost exclusively on males. To investigate whether effects of gut dysbiosis on aversive learning and memory differ by sex, adult female and male C57BL/6N mice were orally administered a moderate dose of nonabsorbable antimicrobial medications (ATMs: neomycin, bacitracin, and pimaricin) or a control over 10 days.