How do the microorganisms that live in us, on us, and around us influence our biology? Joseph Bruckner joins us today to discuss the gut-brain connection, and how social development is affected by the microbes that reside in our bodies… Joseph is a Senior Scientist at InVivo Biosystems, a company that strives to help pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, biotechnology companies, and academic research institutions advance their research and drug development endeavors.  With extensive experience in immunology, virology, microbiology, neurobiology, and more, Joseph is on a mission to develop solutions to “accelerate discovery and address underserved conditions”. In this episode, we cover: The mechanisms that are responsible for microbial interactions with the brain.  The experimentation that is done to investigate how microbes influence social behavior.  How bacteria evolve to survive in specific microenvironments.  The importance of fine-tuning the interactions between microbes and their host. Want to learn more about Joseph and his work? Click here and here now! Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/30PvU9C