A randomized controlled trial into the effects of probiotics on electroencephalography in preschoolers with autism.

Researchers gave probiotic supplements to preschoolers with autism for 6 months and measured their brain activity using EEG. Children who took probiotics showed brain wave patterns that were more similar to typical brain activity compared to those who took a placebo. The brain changes were related to improvements in clinical measures, suggesting probiotics might help with autism symptoms by affecting brain function.

This randomized controlled trial examined the effects of 6-month probiotic supplementation on brain electrical activity (EEG) in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. The study used a double-blind, placebo-controlled design to investigate changes in brain activity patterns. Results showed that children receiving probiotics had decreased power in frontopolar brain regions in beta and gamma frequency bands, increased coherence in the same bands, and shifts in frontal asymmetry toward more typical brain activity patterns. EEG measures correlated significantly with clinical and biochemical parameters, suggesting potential mechanistic links between probiotic supplementation and brain function changes in autism.

Findings suggest probiotics may positively influence brain function in young children with autism, potentially supporting their use as a complementary intervention. However, further research is needed to establish optimal dosing, duration, and which children might benefit most before clinical implementation.

Sample size not reported in the abstract, limiting assessment of statistical power. Long-term effects beyond 6 months unknown. Mechanism of action not fully elucidated. Generalizability to older children or adults with autism unclear.

This study investigates the effects of a probiotic on preschoolers' brain electrical activity with autism spectrum disorder. Autism is a disorder with an increasing prevalence characterized by an enormous individual, family, and social cost. Although the etiology of autism spectrum disorder is unknown, an interaction between genetic and environmental factors is implicated, converging in altered brain synaptogenesis and, therefore, connectivity. Besides deepening the knowledge on the resting brain electrical activity that characterizes this disorder, this study allows analyzing the positive central effects of a 6-month therapy with a probiotic through a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study and the correlations between electroencephalography activity and biochemical and clinical parameters.

In subjects treated with probiotics, we observed a decrease of power in frontopolar regions in beta and gamma bands, and increased coherence in the same bands together with a shift in frontal asymmetry, which suggests a modification toward a typical brain activity. Electroencephalography measures were significantly correlated with clinical and biochemical measures. These findings support the importance of further investigations on probiotics' benefits in autism spectrum disorder to better elucidate mechanistic links between probiotics supplementation and changes in brain activity.