抑郁症和胃肠疾病均可影响机体的生物学机能，且二者发病部位相互关联、临床症状双向发展、病理机制互为因果、治疗药物亦可互用。神经系统与免疫机制包括下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴传导异常、自主神经系统传输异常、神经递质水平紊乱、炎症因子串扰等。这些因素容易诱发或加重抑郁症，并通过“脑-肠轴”影响胃肠功能。胃肠机制包括肠道菌群紊乱、肠黏膜屏障损伤、肠神经系统异常等，既可促进胃肠疾病的发生、发展，又会影响神经系统功能，进而诱发或加重抑郁症。抗抑郁药物可能影响胃肠功能，亦可用于胃肠疾病的治疗。治疗胃肠疾病药物可能会影响大脑功能，与抗抑郁药物联用可显著提升抗抑郁疗效。“脑-肠交互视阈”理论的提出为有效、安全治疗2类疾病提供了新视角，为“脑肠同治”提供了理论支持，为临床合理用药提供了新方向。

Both depression and gastrointestinal diseases significantly affect the biological functions of the body. The two diseases are interrelated in terms of affected areas, bi-direction development of clinical symptoms, causal relationships in pathological mechanisms, and the potential for shared treatment options. The nervous system and immune mechanisms include abnormal activity of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, transmission abnormalities of autonomic nervous system, abnormal levels of neurotransmitters, and cross-talks among inflammatory factors, and so forth. These factors induce or aggravate depression, and could cause gastrointestinal diseases through the “brain-gut axis”. The gastrointestinal mechanisms involve in intestinal flora disorder, intestinal mucosal barrier injury, abnormality of intestinal nervous system, and so on. These factors can not only promote the occurrence and development of gastrointestinal diseases, and also affect the functions of nervous system, thereby inducing or aggravating depression. Anti-depressants could affect the gastrointestinal tracts, which can also be used for treating gastrointestinal diseases. Drugs for treating gastrointestinal diseases may affect the functions of brain, and in combination with antidepressants can significantly improve anti-depressant effects. The proposal of “brain-gut interaction” provides a new perspective for effective and safe treatment of both types of diseases, providing theoretical support for the ‘simultaneous treatment of brain and gut’, and a novel direction of treatments in clinic.

国家自然科学基金资助项目（82274360）；2022年度山西省基础研究计划（自由探索类）项目（202203021221030）；山西省回国留学人员科研资助项目（2022-026）；研究生精品课程项目（2023YZ10）；研究生实践创新项目（2023SJ038）