Using research on animals, a recent study that was published in The Journal of Immunology has discovered a connection between the gut microbiota and the neurodevelopmental disorder autism. However, the researchers claim that our mother’s microbiota has a greater influence on our likelihood of developing autism than does our own.

“The microbiome can shape the developing brain in multiple ways,” John Lukens, lead researcher and PhD student from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, said in a statement.