Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Mind-Altering Cat Parasite Linked To Schizophrenia in Largest Study Yet (sciencealert.com)

Posted by msmash on from the closer-look dept.

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.

4 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. Yet another reason.... by cayenne8 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ....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.........
    1. Re:Yet another reason.... by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ....to own a dog instead of a cat.

      I don't get the "either/or" argument. Both cats and dogs make great pets- too many people seem to think that there needs to be a competition that you have to dislike one if you like the other.

      They fill different voids. IN GENERAL: Dogs are more like kids, they are dependents and look for you for direction. Cats are more like fellow adults/buddies, they're more independent but still enjoy your company but they have a life outside of you.

      Why not both: a dog to look after and take for walks, and a cat to curl up on your lap as you read a book at night?

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    2. Re:Yet another reason.... by Nidi62 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      IN GENERAL: Dogs are more like kids, they are dependents and look for you for direction. Cats are more like fellow adults/buddies, they're more independent but still enjoy your company but they have a life outside of you.

      With a cat I have an arrangement of "here, you eat your food and shit in the litterbox. You have your life and I have mine. If you want to cuddle on the couch, that's cool".

      Try getting a wife instead. You eventually end up with basically the same arrangement, but there's also the occasional opportunity for sex.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  2. Re:Explains the crazy cat lady phenomena by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Or it's just a joke.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.