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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther. Mar 5, 2026; 17(1): 112754
Published online Mar 5, 2026. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v17.i1.112754
Published online Mar 5, 2026. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v17.i1.112754
Gut-brain axis and post-operative cognitive dysfunction: A multifactorial perspective on microbiota, inflammation, and cognitive health
Rhythm Joshi, Anju Gupta, Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Critical Care, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, Delhi, India
Nishkarsh Gupta, Department of Onco-Anesthesiology and Palliative Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, Delhi, India
Puneet Khanna, Department of Anesthesiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, Delhi, India
Nishant Verma, Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, Delhi, India
Simran Kaur, Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, Delhi, India
Author contributions: Joshi R conceptualized the manuscript, performed literature search, and wrote the initial draft Gupta A and Gupta N critically reviewed and edited the manuscript; Kaur S, Varma N, and Khanna P contributed to microbiological and physiological insights; all authors approved the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There was no conflict of interest among authors.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Anju Gupta, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Critical Care, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, Delhi, India. dranjugupta09@gmail.com
Received: August 5, 2025
Revised: September 11, 2025
Accepted: November 26, 2025
Published online: March 5, 2026
Processing time: 190 Days and 12.2 Hours
Revised: September 11, 2025
Accepted: November 26, 2025
Published online: March 5, 2026
Processing time: 190 Days and 12.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This review explores the important connection between gut health and brain function, especially in patients recovering from surgery. It focuses on how disturbances in gut microbes after surgery can lead to inflammation, impaired gut barrier function, and memory issues—collectively known as post-operative cognitive dysfunction. The article highlights growing evidence that restoring gut balance using probiotics and other microbiota-based therapies may help reduce inflammation and support better cognitive recovery. By drawing attention to the gut-brain link, this review opens up new possibilities for non-invasive strategies to protect the brain and improve mental clarity in post-surgical patients.