01-29-2021 By Earth.com staff writer The gut and the brain are connected in many ways, and a growing collection of research suggests that gut-brain interactions are critically important to our health. In a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers developed an “organ-on-a-chip” system to investigate how microbes living in the gut affect brain health. Gut-brain interactions can make us irritable when we are hungry, or cause physical pain in the stomach when we are nervous. Recently, experts have determined that gut bacteria may even influence neurological diseases. In the lab of study senior author Professor Linda Griffith, researchers have worked for several years developing microphysiological systems – small devices that can be used to grow engineered tissue models of different organs, connected by microfluidic channels. In some cases, these models can offer more accurate information on human disease than animal models can, noted Professor Griffith.