***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Stress plays an important role in the development of symptoms contributing to disease . Stress induces various disorders with gastrointestinal , physical , and psychological symptoms . Probiotics can help regulate or modulate gastrointestinal functions . The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a probiotic preparation ( Probio-Stick ) on stress-induced symptoms in volunteers . A double-blind , placebo-controlled , r and omized study was conducted on volunteers with symptoms of stress . Subjects received a probiotic ( Probio-Stick ; Lallem and SAS , Saint-Simon , France ) containing Lactobacillus acidophilus Rosell-52 and Bifidobacterium longum Rosell-175 ( 3 x 10(9 ) colony-forming units per sachet stick ) or a sensorially identical placebo without probiotics during a 3-week period . The consumption of probiotics  significantly reduced 2 stress-induced gastrointestinal symptoms ( abdominal pain and nausea/vomiting ) for intention-to-treat or per- protocol population s. In contrast , the probiotics did not significantly modify the other physical and psychological symptoms and sleep problems induced by stressful life events for intention-to-treat or per- protocol population s. The results indicate that Probio-Stick can provide a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal symptoms experienced by individuals affected by chronic stress Objective : The impact on mood and memory of consuming a probiotic containing milk drink , or a placebo , was examined as , previously , a poor mood has been found to correlate with the frequency of constipation . Design : A double-blind placebo-controlled trial with r and om allocation of subjects . Setting : Subjects went about their normal life in the community apart from three visits to the laboratory . Subjects : One hundred and thirty-two healthy members of general population , mean age 61.8 years , volunteered in response to local media coverage . One hundred and twenty-four finished the trial . Intervention : For a 3-week period , either a probiotic containing milk drink , or a placebo , were consumed daily . Mood and cognition were measured at baseline , and after 10 and 20 days of consumption . Results : At baseline those who reported themselves to be less frequently constipated were more clearheaded , confident and elated . Although the taking of the probiotic did not generally change the mood , this appeared to be a reflection of the generally good mood in this sample . When those in the bottom third of the depressed/elated dimension at baseline were considered , they selectively responded by reporting themselves as happy rather than depressed after taking the probiotic . The intervention did not , however , influence the reported frequency of defaecation , probably a reflection of the initially low incidence of constipation . An unexpected and possibly chance finding was that the consumption of probiotics result ed in a slightly-poorer performance on two measures of memory . Conclusions : The consumption of a probiotic-containing yoghurt improved the mood of those whose mood was initially poor . This improvement in mood was not , however , associated with an increased frequency of defaecation . Sponsorship : Funded by Yakult , Japan Background and aims : The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a synbiotic supplementation in reducing common winter diseases  in children . Methods : A r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled , multicentre study was conducted in young school-age children ( 3—7 years old ) during a winter period . Participants were otherwise healthy children who suffered from at least three episodes of ear , nose and throat ( ENT ) , respiratory tract or gastrointestinal illness during the previous winter . They were supplemented daily with either a synbiotic preparation ( Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 , Bifidobacterium infantis R0033 , Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 , and fructooligosaccharide ) or a matched placebo for 3 months . Over this period , all emergent health episodes of any type were recorded by parents in a diary . They were checked by investigators at regular monthly visits . The main study outcome was the percentage of children free of any episode during the study course . Results : We r and omized 135 children ( mean age : 4.1±1.0 years ) to the synbiotic group ( n = 62 ) or placebo ( n = 73 ) group . At least one illness episode was reported in 32 children in the synbiotic group and 50 in the placebo group ( 51.6 % versus 68.5 % ) . This corresponded to a significant 25 % relative risk reduction ( 95 % CI 0.6—44.3 % ; p = 0.045 ) . This difference was due to a decrease in the number of children who suffered from at least one ENT , respiratory tract or gastrointestinal disorder ( 50.0 % with synbiotic versus 67.1 % with placebo ; p = 0.044 ) . At least one sickness school day loss was noted in 25.8 % of children with the synbiotic as compared with 42.5 % with placebo ( p = 0.043 ) . No treatment related side effects were detected in either group . Conclusions : This study suggests that a 3-month supplementation with this synbiotic preparation  can decrease the risk of occurrence of common infectious diseases in children and limits the risk of school day loss Background Cognitive reactivity to sad mood is a vulnerability marker of depression . Implicit self-depressed associations are related to depression status and reduced remission probability . It is unknown whether these cognitive vulnerabilities precede the first onset of depression . Aim To test the predictive value of cognitive reactivity and implicit self-depressed associations for the incidence of depressive disorders . Methods Prospect i ve cohort study of 834 never-depressed individuals , followed over a two-year period . The predictive value of cognitive reactivity and implicit self-depressed associations for the onset of depressive disorders was assessed using binomial logistic regression . The multivariate model corrected for baseline levels of sub clinical depressive symptoms , neuroticism , for the presence of a history of anxiety disorders , for family history of depressive or anxiety disorders , and for the incidence of negative life events . Results As single predictors , both cognitive reactivity and implicit self-depressed associations were significantly associated with depression incidence . In the multivariate model , cognitive reactivity  was significantly associated with depression incidence , together with baseline depressive symptoms and the number of negative life events , whereas implicit self-depressed associations were not . Conclusion Cognitive reactivity to sad mood is associated with the incidence of depressive disorders , also when various other depression-related variables are controlled for . Implicit self-depressed associations predicted depression incidence in a bivariate test , but not when controlling for other predictors BACKGROUND & AIMS Changes in gut microbiota have been reported to alter signaling mechanisms , emotional behavior , and visceral nociceptive reflexes in rodents . However , alteration of the intestinal microbiota with antibiotics or probiotics has not been shown to produce these changes in humans . We investigated whether consumption of a fermented milk product with probiotic ( FMPP ) for 4 weeks by healthy women altered brain intrinsic connectivity or responses to emotional attention tasks . METHODS Healthy women with no gastrointestinal or psychiatric symptoms were r and omly assigned to groups given FMPP ( n = 12 ) , a nonfermented milk product ( n = 11 , controls ) , or no intervention ( n = 13 ) twice daily for 4 weeks . The FMPP contained Bifidobacterium animalis subsp Lactis , Streptococcus thermophiles , Lactobacillus bulgaricus , and Lactococcus lactis subsp Lactis . Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after the intervention to measure brain response to an emotional faces attention task and resting brain activity . Multivariate and region of interest analyses were performed . RESULTS FMPP intake was associated with reduced task-related response of a distributed functional network ( 49 % cross-block covariance ; P = .004 ) containing affective , viscerosensory , and somatosensory cortices . Alterations in intrinsic activity of resting brain indicated that ingestion of FMPP was associated with changes in midbrain connectivity , which could explain the observed differences in activity during the task . CONCLUSIONS Four-week intake of an FMPP by healthy women affected activity of brain regions that control central processing of emotion and sensation In a previous clinical study , a probiotic formulation ( PF ) consisting of Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 ( PF ) decreased stress-induced gastrointestinal discomfort . Emerging evidence of a role for gut microbiota on central nervous system functions therefore suggests that oral intake of probiotics may have beneficial consequences on mood and psychological distress . The aim of the present study was to investigate the anxiolytic-like activity of PF in rats , and its possible effects on anxiety , depression , stress and coping strategies in healthy human volunteers . In the pre clinical study , rats were daily administered PF for 2 weeks and subsequently tested in the conditioned defensive burying test , a screening model for anti-anxiety agents . In the clinical trial , volunteers participated in a double-blind , placebo-controlled , r and omised parallel group study with PF administered for 30 d and assessed with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist ( HSCL-90 ) , the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale ( HADS ) , the Perceived Stress Scale , the Coping Checklist ( CCL ) and 24 h urinary free cortisol ( UFC ) . Daily subchronic administration of PF significantly reduced anxiety-like behaviour in rats ( P < 0·05 ) and alleviated psychological distress in volunteers , as measured particularly by the HSCL-90 scale ( global severity index , P < 0·05 ; somatisation , P < 0·05 ; depression , P < 0·05 ; and anger-hostility , P < 0·05 ) , the HADS ( HADS global score , P < 0·05 ; and HADS-anxiety , P < 0·06 ) , and by the CCL ( problem solving , P < 0·05 ) and the UFC level ( P < 0·05 ) . L. helveticus R0052 and B. longum R0175 taken in combination display anxiolytic-like activity in rats and beneficial psychological effects in healthy human volunteers OBJECTIVE A range of immune system abnormalities have been associated with schizophrenia . Probiotic compounds modulate the immune response and offer a potential treatment strategy for schizophrenia . Probiotic compounds have also been observed to improve gastrointestinal dysfunction , which is a common problem in individuals with schizophrenia . We performed a r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial to examine whether probiotic supplementation can reduce symptom severity in patients with schizophrenia receiving antipsychotic treatment and also whether probiotics are associated with bowel functioning . METHODS Out patients with schizophrenia ( N = 65 ) meeting DSM-IV criteria and with at least moderately severe psychotic symptoms were enrolled in the study from December 2010-August 2012 . Following a 2-week placebo run-in period , patients were r and omly assigned to 14 weeks of double-blind adjunctive probiotic ( combined Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp . lactis strain Bb12 ) or placebo therapy .  Psychiatric symptoms were assessed biweekly with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale ( PANSS ) , and patients were queried weekly about their gastrointestinal functioning . RESULTS Repeated- measures analysis of variance showed no significant differences in the PANSS total score between probiotic and placebo supplementation ( F = 1.28 , P = .25 ) . However , patients in the probiotic group were less likely to develop severe bowel difficulty over the course of the trial ( hazard ratio = 0.23 ; 95 % CI , 0.09 - 0.61 , P = .003 ) . CONCLUSIONS Probiotic supplementation may help prevent a common somatic symptom associated with schizophrenia . TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinical Trials.gov identifier : NCT01242371 Acute psychological stress is positively associated with a cold/flu . The present r and omised , double-blind , placebo-controlled study examined the effect of three potentially probiotic bacteria on the proportion of healthy days over a 6-week period in academically stressed undergraduate students ( n 581 ) who received Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 , Bifidobacterium longum ssp . infantis R0033 , Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 or placebo .  On each day , participants recorded the intensity ( scale : 0 = not experiencing to 3 = very intense ) for nine cold/flu symptoms , and a sum of symptom intensity > 6 was design ated as a day of cold/flu . B. bifidum result ed in a greater proportion of healthy days  than placebo ( P≤ 0·05 ) . The percentage of participants reporting ≥ 1 d of cold/flu during the 6-week intervention period was significantly lower with B. bifidum than with placebo ( P < 0·05 ) . There were no effects of B. infantis or L. helveticus compared with placebo on either outcome . A predictive model accounted for influential characteristics and their interactions on daily reporting of cold/flu episodes . The proportion of participants reporting a cold on any given day was lower at weeks 2 and 3 with B. bifidum and B. infantis than with placebo for the average level of stress and the most commonly reported number of hours of sleep . Daily intake of b 
    Output:
    
These results show that probiotic consumption may have a positive effect on psychological symptoms of depression , anxiety , and perceived stress in healthy human volunteers