Our memories and senses are deeply connected—like how a favorite song can recreate a whole glorious teenage summer. It turns out this relationship might extend beyond our five external senses to include our internal senses: the signals telling us what's happening inside our bodies, sometimes beyond the veil of conscious perception.

New research by Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute affiliate Christoph Thaiss suggests that losing these internal signals as we age — in part due to changes in our gut microbiome — could one reason why our memories decline as we get older.

Today we're talking with Thaiss about his new study in Nature that traces a surprising path from gut microbes to memory formation in the mouse brain.

Learn More

Enhancing gut-brain communication reversed cognitive decline, improved memory formation in aging mice (Stanford Medicine, 2026)
Intestinal interoceptive dysfunction drives age-associated cognitive decline. (Nature, 2026)
Christoph's presentation at Wu Tsai Neuro's 2025 Annual Symposium
Neuroscientists Dive into the Gut (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2025)
The Thaiss Lab at the Arc Institute
Thaiss Lab publications

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Could boosting gut–brain communication prevent memory loss? A tale of microbes, memory, and our internal senses | Christophe Thaiss

From Our Neurons to Yours

Could boosting gut–brain communication prevent memory loss? A tale of microbes, memory, and our internal senses | Christophe Thaiss