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Mind-Altering Cat Parasite Linked To Schizophrenia in Largest Study Yet (sciencealert.com)
Scientists claim they have found new evidence of a link between infection with the protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, and schizophrenia, in what is described as the largest study of its kind. From a report: T. gondii, a brain-dwelling parasite estimated to be hosted by at least 2 billion people around the world, doesn't create symptoms in most people who become infected -- but acute cases of toxoplasmosis can be dangerous. Healthy adults are generally thought to not be at risk from T. gondii infections, but children or people with suppressed immune systems can develop severe flu-like symptoms, in addition to blurred vision and brain inflammation.
Pregnant women need to be careful too, as the parasite can cause foetal abnormalities or even miscarriage. Aside from the known physiological dangers, however, the stranger and more ambiguous risks associated with the parasite remain largely hypothetical -- although a huge body of research suggests something weird is going on. Causation remains very much disputable, but the brain-dwelling parasite -- commonly carried by cats and present in their faeces -- has been linked to a huge host of behaviour-altering effects.
Virtually all warm-blooded animals are capable of being infected, and when T. gondii gets inside them, unusual things happen. In rodents, animals seemingly lose their inhibitions, becoming more exploratory and losing their aversion to cat odours.
Pregnant women need to be careful too, as the parasite can cause foetal abnormalities or even miscarriage. Aside from the known physiological dangers, however, the stranger and more ambiguous risks associated with the parasite remain largely hypothetical -- although a huge body of research suggests something weird is going on. Causation remains very much disputable, but the brain-dwelling parasite -- commonly carried by cats and present in their faeces -- has been linked to a huge host of behaviour-altering effects.
Virtually all warm-blooded animals are capable of being infected, and when T. gondii gets inside them, unusual things happen. In rodents, animals seemingly lose their inhibitions, becoming more exploratory and losing their aversion to cat odours.
...then I'm no longer filled with self-loathing.
If you post it, they will read.
... this explains why cats are taking over teh world.
....to own a dog instead of a cat.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
In rodents, animals seemingly lose their inhibitions, becoming more exploratory and losing their aversion to cat odours.
I think this applies to humans as well. By infecting humans with this T. gondii parasite, humans have the ability to clean cat stinky waste products with no issues whatsoever, thus ensla^H^H^H^H^H employing them as their staff.
So the lady on the Simpsons that throws cats at people was just schizo from cat parasites.
When a person gets infected....is that permanent?
Or does it eventually die off and return you to a state where there is zero T. gondii in the brain?
I wonder how that might affect a prominent politician?
Table-ized A.I.
IMHO, if T.gondii is hosted by 2 billion people worldwide, then it's rather a human parasite than a "cat parasite".
Just sterilize the lot of them and let this be the last generation of house cats, it's not fucking worth it.
Maybe in the future we can breed some species which are immune.
This explains the crazy cat ladies.
After all, how many mind-altering cats are there, really?
They were just trying to stop the wrong disease with the black death when they were killing cats.
It explains the Crazy Cat Ladies.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
They keep claiming toxoplasmosis is not real and they love their cats just because cats.
Don't know if they just don't want to accept it, or if the toxoplasmosis makes it impossible for the sufferer to identify it.
This insight has been around for two decades or so.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Everyone in charge has a parasite because that is what makes them bold and brave unfeeling. However it also makes them stark raving bonkers.
Toxoplasmosis has a life cycle that includes cats and their prey. It reproduces inside the cat's digestive system and comes out in their crap. Since cats don't eat crap and generally stay away from crap, it has found a clever way to get back into a cat's digestive system. It infects cats' prey, such as rodents, and makes them far less afraid of cats and cat odors. Which makes them far more likely to be eaten by cats. The parasite apparently has no effect on cats, but it has psychoactive effects on the other hosts.
Since it's psychoactive, it's not surprising that it has such effects on humans.
This is similar to the rabies virus, which causes dogs to bite anything and everything (the virus is present in saliva) and actually has the same effect on humans. In humans, the end result is hallucinations, confusion, and aggression - probably what dogs are going through before they die of rabies.
Do you have ESP?
Dude! Being insane is groovy! Put this cat parasite on your balls and you'll be trippin' out in no time!
The active infection is fairly easy to treat, but there is no known way yet to eradicate the latent, encysted infection.
Psychiatric researchers have known about this problem for a while, and they've even done a few controlled trials to see if schizophrenics etc. improve when given anti-toxoplasma agents. The trials were all failures. As more than one reviewer has pointed out, the failures were not surprising, because the anti-toxo agents are known to be ineffective against latent infection.
wife are more demanding, at least the pre-wife (GF) category i was with, far less forseable than a cat, far more expansive, and sometimes the sex is not that good after a few years. YMMV.
False.
If brain parasites had to depend on leftists, they'd starve.
I got space maaaaadddddnesssss!
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
>> In rodents, animals seemingly lose their inhibitions, becoming more exploratory and losing their aversion to cat odours.
Huh.. One can see how adaptive evolution would favor cats who can put the parasite out there without being affected by it themselves. Cats benefit when rodents get daring in their presence. More significantly, it also makes humans crave their presence and care for them, if only in a very basic sense. Now that's an effective adaptation!
Nerds just love talking about this thing. Maybe because they wish they were living out a Star Trek episode ...
It couldn't be that cats are just cute or anything. Like, you, dogs, which people fuss over in exactly the same way.
"We are cats. Lower your emotional barriers and surrender your houses. We will use your biological and technological progress as our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."
And my cats say that you could have copied that part of TFA which is relevant to the title. Nowhere in your article does it mention even the word schizophrenia or the connection they claim to have found except the clickbait opening paragraph. Quit smoking weed
Well, now that we've diagnosed Trump, let's talk about a cure.
Whaddya think? 30.06?
This explains the insanity of Democrats, yes? They're all infected with this?
This explains old stereotype about cat ladies. Toxoplasmosis needs crazy living beings (mice or humans) for the completeness of their life cycle.
While the entire discussion is scientifically very valuable, however cause and consequence should not be mixed up. Toxoplasmosis does not have conscience, as such turning living beings into cat lovers is merely evolutionary branch of life, all according to the Darwinian laws.
If 2 billion people has it and most of them has no problems, it might be beneficial to us.
Oh, but it gets better. Some years ago I went to a lecture given by a biology researcher at a well known evil university. The dude's talk was pretty cool, but the really interesting part came at the very end. The researcher mentioned: oh yeah, all of my research is funded by the army, because they hope to engineer a biological weapon based on the toxo parasite.
...become infected"...
Out of TWO BILLION PEOPLE. Therefore something else is MUCH more likely to be the cause of 'schizophrenia'. Family upbringing, perchance? Say it ain't so!
I came here to express great concern about T. gondii in cats and the potential to infect humans. It's a public health crisis!
And then I felt this wave of warmth, goodwill and relaxation. Why are we concerned, cats just wanna be kitties, and who's even seen a T. gondii anyway? Just chill out dudes, it's all good!