Overview
- Explains why we evolved a need for exposure to the microbiota of our mothers and of the natural environment
- Summarises the physiological roles of these microbial exposures, and what goes wrong when they are missing
- Resolves the confusion in the media and medical literature caused by narrow understanding of the hygiene hypothesis
Part of the book series: Progress in Inflammation Research (PIR, volume 89)
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Table of contents (12 chapters)
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Front Matter
Keywords
About this book
This edited collection of 12 chapters by research workers from a wide range of disciplines resolves the confusion that currently surrounds the “hygiene hypothesis” by considering the human need for exposure to microorganisms from an evolutionary point of view. The book explains why we evolved a requirement for exposure to microbiota from our mothers, from other people, and from the natural environment. It also explains the physiological roles of these exposures, what goes wrong when the exposures are distorted and how human lifestyles and activities, including degradation of the natural environment, are leading to this distortion. Particular attention is given to the range of pathologies associated with inappropriate microbial exposures and inappropriate colonization, including immunoregulatory problems such as allergies and autoimmunity, metabolic problems such as obesity and diabetes, and problems of central nervous system function and neurodegeneration. This book is of profound relevance to most medical disciplines, but also to those concerned with preserving the natural environment and with developing healthier urbanisation.
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Christopher A. Lowry, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology, Center for Neuroscience, and Center for Microbial Exploration at the University of Colorado Boulder, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, a Principal Investigator in the Department of Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System, VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, & Clinical Center (MIRECC), director of the Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Laboratory at CU Boulder, Co-Director of the Military and Veteran Microbiome Consortium for Research and Education (MVM-CoRE), Senior Fellow and member of the Board of Directors of inVIVO Planetary Health, of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), and a member of the Board of Directors of Trails Please Foundation. Dr. Lowry’s research program focuses on understanding stress-related physiology and behavior with an emphasis on the microbiome-gut-brain axis.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Evolution, Biodiversity and a Reassessment of the Hygiene Hypothesis
Editors: Graham A. W. Rook, Christopher A. Lowry
Series Title: Progress in Inflammation Research
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91051-8
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-91050-1Published: 25 March 2022
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-91053-2Published: 26 March 2023
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-91051-8Published: 24 March 2022
Series ISSN: 1422-7746
Series E-ISSN: 2296-4525
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 414
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 45 illustrations in colour
Topics: Immunology, Allergology