For years, we’d drawn a quiet line between what belongs to mental health and what belongs to physical health. But science keeps uncovering just how connected they really are.

Take for example the interconnections between the brain and the gut. Top researchers are now looking more deeply into the body’s interconnected signaling pathways and how they influence brain function and behavior.

We’ve put together an infographic to help break down the complexity of this process, and to illustrate how deeply mental and physical health are integrated.

Have a look.

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Click here for the text-only version of the infographic

(If you’re sharing this infographic, please be sure to include the copyright information. We put a lot of work into creating these resources for you. Thanks!)

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Cryan, J. F., O’Riordan, K. J., Cowan, C. S. M., Sandhu, K. V., Bastiaanssen, T. F. S., Boehme, M., Codagnone, M. G., Cussotto, S., Fulling, C., Golubeva, A. V., Guzzetta, K. E., Jaggar, M., Long-Smith, C. M., Lyte, J. M., Martin, J. A., Molinero-Perez, A., Moloney, G., Morelli, E., Morillas, E., … Dinan, T. G. (2019). The microbiota-gut-brain axis. Physiological Reviews, 99(4), 1877–2013.

Morais, L. H., Schreiber, H. L., IV, & Mazmanian, S. K. (2021). The gut microbiota–brain axis in behaviour and brain disorders. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 19, 241–255.

Cryan, J. F., & Dinan, T. G. (2012). Mind-altering microorganisms: The impact of the gut microbiota on brain and behaviour. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13(10), 701–712.

Spencer, N. J., et al. (2026). Gut–brain communication: Types of sensory nerves and mechanisms of activation. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

O’Riordan, K. J., et al. (2025). The gut microbiota-immune-brain axis: Therapeutic implications. Cell Reports Medicine.

Grundeken, M. J., & El Aidy, S. (2025). Enteroendocrine cells: The gatekeepers of microbiome-gut-brain communication. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes.

Mukhopadhya, I., & Louis, P. (2025). Gut microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids and their role in human health and disease. Nature Reviews Microbiology.

Ohara, T. E., & Hsiao, E. Y. (2025). Microbiota–neuroepithelial signalling across the gut–brain axis. Nature Reviews Microbiology.

Jiang, C., Nageeb, W. M., Batool, S., Hashish, A., Alkhawagah, S. M., Ibrahim, H. A. A., Zhu, W., Che, C., Li, X., Jin, M., Zhang, X., Ghonaim, A. H., Ren, M., & Li, S. (2026). Unraveling the gut microbiota-brain axis: Mechanisms, pathophysiology, and therapeutic opportunities. iScience, 29(6), 116224.

Sudo, N., Chida, Y., Aiba, Y., Sonoda, J., Oyama, N., Yu, X.-N., Kubo, C., & Koga, Y. (2004). Postnatal microbial colonization programs the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system for stress response in mice. The Journal of Physiology, 558(1), 263–275.

Bravo, J. A., Forsythe, P., Chew, M. V., Escaravage, E., Savignac, H. M., Dinan, T. G., Bienenstock, J., & Cryan, J. F. (2011). Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerve. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(38), 16050–16055.

Bercik, P., Denou, E., Collins, J., Jackson, W., Lu, J., Jury, J., Deng, Y., Blennerhassett, P., Macri, J., McCoy, K. D., Verdu, E. F., & Collins, S. M. (2011). The intestinal microbiota affect central levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and behavior in mice. Gastroenterology, 141(2), 599–609.e3.

Tillisch, K., Labus, J., Kilpatrick, L., Jiang, Z., Stains, J., Ebrat, B., Guyonnet, D., Legrain-Raspaud, S., Trotin, B., Naliboff, B., & Mayer, E. A. (2013). Consumption of fermented milk product with probiotic modulates brain activity. Gastroenterology, 144(7), 1394–1401.e4.

Now we’d like to hear from you. Where are you noticing connections between mental and physical health in our work with clients?

Please leave a comment below.