狗在超过20,000年里一直是人类社会的一部分；发表在《iScience》上的、由日本麻布大学的菊水健史领导的研究表明，养狗与截然不同的肠道微生物相关，这些微生物可能介导更低的焦虑和更好的社交性。

在东京，对343名青少年进行了分析：96名养狗者（28%）和247名不养狗者（72%）；养狗者表现出更少的社交问题，包括更少的攻击性、更少的违法行为和更少的社交退缩。唾液分析发现，若干种链球菌变体和普雷沃氏菌7在养狗者中显著更丰富，而这些关键微生物变体的低丰度与更多的违法行为相关。

将每个青少年组的微生物进行培养并喂给24只小鼠；六周后，携带养狗者相关微生物的小鼠在嗅闻陌生小鼠时可达14秒，而携带不养狗者微生物的小鼠为6秒，并且在查看一只受压迫的笼友时超过21秒，而另一组从未超过3秒。上述变化意味着嗅探探查约提高2.3倍、亲社会查看至少提高7倍，支持一种与养狗相关的“微生物组到大脑”的作用路径。

Saliva profiling revealed that several Streptococcus variants and Prevotella 7 were significantly more abundant in dog owners, while lower abundance correlated with delinquent behavior. In the mouse transfer study, microbes from each teen group were cultured and fed to 24 mice. After six weeks, mice with owner-associated microbes sniffed unfamiliar mice for up to 14 seconds compared to 6 seconds, and checked a distressed cage-mate for over 21 seconds versus 3 seconds or less. This indicates a 2.3 times higher investigation and at least seven times more prosocial checking, suggesting a microbiome-to-brain pathway linked to dog ownership.

Dogs have been part of human society for over 20,000 years; research led by Takefumi Kikusui at Azabu University in Japan and published in iScience suggests dog ownership is linked to distinct gut microbes that may mediate lower anxiety and better sociality.

In Tokyo, 343 teenagers were analyzed: 96 dog owners (28%) and 247 non-owners (72%); owners showed fewer social problems, including less aggression, delinquency, and social withdrawal. Saliva profiling found several Streptococcus variants and Prevotella 7 significantly more abundant in owners, and low abundance of these key variants correlated with more delinquent behavior.

Source: How dogs make teens feel less anxious

Subtitle: The beneficial relationship is much more than skin deep

Dateline: 12月 18, 2025 09:02 上午