Research data ยท Animal model

Gut microbiota depletion or transplant

From 2021 to 2025, 166 animal research papers mentioned gut microbiota depletion or transplant and at least one behavioral test.

There were 6 such papers in 2011 to 2015. We compare the two periods only when each has 10 or more papers.

166 animal research papers from 2021 to 2025 mentioned gut microbiota depletion or transplant and a test
6 papers in 2011 to 2015, fewer than the 10 needed to compare
19% of these papers mention the Morris water maze
5% of the 3,668 animal research papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention gut microbiota depletion or transplant also mention a test

The tests mentioned with gut microbiota depletion or transplant

Each bar is one test, with how many of the 166 papers from 2021 to 2025 mention it, and what share that is. A paper that mentions two tests counts under both.

The 15 tests these papers mention most

32 papers 19%
21 papers 13%
20 papers 12%
20 papers 12%
14 papers 8%
9 papers 5%
8 papers 5%
8 papers 5%
All 44 tests these papers mention
Papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention gut microbiota depletion or transplant and each test
TestPapersShare of the 166 papers
Morris water maze3219%
Novel object recognition2213%
Elevated plus maze2113%
Forced swim test2012%
Open field2012%
Y-maze148%
Tail suspension test127%
Sucrose preference test117%
Grip strength95%
Rotarod85%
Wheel running85%
Fear conditioning74%
Conditioned place preference74%
Treadmill running74%
Self-administration53%
Marble burying42%
Object location test42%
Three-chamber sociability test32%
Step-down avoidance21%
Light-dark box21%
Tail flick21%
Self-grooming21%
Olfactory tests21%
Social interaction test21%
Operant conditioning21%
Novelty-suppressed feeding21%
Wire hang and inverted grid21%
Beam walking21%
Prepulse inhibition and acoustic startle21%
Von Frey test21%
Adhesive removal test21%
Formalin test11%
Pole test11%
Elevated zero maze11%
Passive avoidance11%
Splash test11%
Learned helplessness11%
Social approach and avoidance11%
Gait analysis11%
Paw pressure test11%
Resident-intruder test11%
Radial arm maze11%
T-maze11%
Barnes maze11%

Tests named in 30 or more of these papers link to a page on that test with gut microbiota depletion or transplant. To count the papers that mention two or more tests together, use the test battery tool.

Papers by year

Animal research papers that mention gut microbiota depletion or transplant and a behavioral test, by year, 2001 to 2026

The 2026 bar counts papers added to PubMed by November 8, 2026.

  • Papers in a full year
  • 2026 so far
Show the counts for each year
Papers by year
YearPapers
20010
20020
20030
20040
20050
20060
20070
20080
20090
20100
20112
20120
20131
20141
20152
20167
20171
20189
201914
202013
202121
202221
202340
202435
202549
2026 (part year)49

Disease models in papers that mention gut microbiota depletion or transplant

Each bar is one disease model, with how many of the 166 papers from 2021 to 2025 are tagged with it, and what share that is. The model comes from the paper's MeSH terms, the subject headings the National Library of Medicine adds when it indexes a paper. A paper without MeSH terms gets its model from PubTator 3, NCBI's text-mining service, if PubTator 3 finds the disease in the title or abstract. A paper can count under more than one model.

Papers from 2021 to 2025 by disease model

23 papers 14%
20 papers 12%
13 papers 8%
10 papers 6%
8 papers 5%
6 papers 4%

Which species the papers used

Each bar is a share of the 166 papers from 2021 to 2025. A paper can use more than one species, so the shares can add to more than 100%.

Species

Mouse
130 papers 78%
Rat
38 papers 23%

NIH funding

22 of the 166 papers (13%) had NIH funding. NIA and NINDS funded the most, 7 each. A paper counts as NIH-funded when its PubMed record lists an NIH grant, or when NIH RePORTER links it to an NIH project.

NIH-funded papers by institute

NIANational Institute on Aging
7 papers 32%
NINDSNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
7 papers 32%
NIDA
6 papers 27%
NIDDKNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
4 papers 18%
NIGMSNational Institute of General Medical Sciences
4 papers 18%
NIMHNational Institute of Mental Health
3 papers 14%

Each share is of the NIH-funded papers. A paper with grants from two institutes counts under both.

The most cited papers from 2021 to 2025

These papers from 2021 to 2025 mention gut microbiota depletion or transplant and a behavioral test and have the most citations, as counted by NIH's iCite on November 5, 2026.

  1. Human-Derived Bifidobacterium dentium Modulates the Mammalian Serotonergic System and Gut-Brain Axis.

    Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2021. 139 citations.

  2. Gut microbiota is causally associated with poststroke cognitive impairment through lipopolysaccharide and butyrate.

    J Neuroinflammation, 2022. 125 citations.

  3. Dimethyl itaconate ameliorates cognitive impairment induced by a high-fat diet via the gut-brain axis in mice.

    Microbiome, 2023. 105 citations.

  4. Multi-omics data reveals aberrant gut microbiota-host glycerophospholipid metabolism in association with neuroinflammation in APP/PS1 mice.

    Gut Microbes, 2023. 98 citations.

  5. Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Is a Promising Method to Restore Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis and Relieve Neurological Deficits after Traumatic Brain Injury.

    Oxid Med Cell Longev, 2021. 92 citations.

How we counted

A paper counts here when it is animal research and its title or abstract mentions gut microbiota depletion or transplant and at least one of the 90 behavioral tests. A count is a number of papers, not of experiments, labs or animals. A paper that mentions gut microbiota depletion or transplant only in its methods is missed, so the count runs low.

A paper is animal research when its MeSH terms name an animal species. If they name none, NCBI's text-mining service PubTator 3 has to find one in the title or abstract. Papers on animals other than mice, rats, zebrafish, flies and primates count only when they also mention a test. Many of them study people or use the same words for something else.

The search terms for gut microbiota depletion or transplant are in the download Animal models and brain techniques. The counts in the chart of tests are in Tests mentioned with each model or technique. The full method, with each source and its terms of use, is on our main page, Behavioral tests in published research.

More animal models

Each animal model with 100 or more papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention a test has a page. These are the others, each with that count.

How to cite

APA

ConductScience. (2026, November 13). Behavioral tests with gut microbiota depletion or transplant [Data set]. https://conductscience.com/resources/data/animal-models/gut-microbiota

BibTeX

@misc{conductscience_gut_microbiota_2026,
  author = {{ConductScience}},
  title = {Behavioral tests with gut microbiota depletion or transplant},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  url = {https://conductscience.com/resources/data/animal-models/gut-microbiota},
  note = {Data set, released November 13, 2026},
}

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