Apr
14
Written by:
Emily Sherman
4/14/2011 7:53 AM
If you have Toxoplasmosis, researchers need your help. Donate plasma and receive $400/donation for your time. Visit www.idonateplasma.com for details.
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Can a single-celled parasite permanently change your personality and shape human cultures? Evidence points to yes. Toxoplasma gondii (“TG”): 16-40% of Americans, and 25-40% of the world, has or has at one point been infected by this creature. Ladies, this parasite might make you smarter, but gentlemen, it might make you stupid. I know this is a long post but if you make it to the end, there’s kittens.
TG can only sexually reproduce in cats; anytime it is outside of a cat’s body (after being defecated out), it finds sneaky ways to get back in (help the cat get a meal). Basically, it’s just tryna get some p… place to mate. And it will take over your brain to do so. Infection can happen from mother to fetus, from ingesting cat feces or from eating undercooked meat (I should probably have listed that one first) Fertilizer made from cat feces gets into the systems of animals like cows and pigs who eat plants grown from that fertilizer. TG’s physical symptoms in people with healthy immune systems are usually mild and flu-like.
But wait. It takes over brains?
Yes, well, it at least alters the brains of several different animals. In rodents, it reduces or eliminates their innate fear of cats. Unlike normal rodents, infected mice/rats don’t fear cat pheromones and do more novelty-seeking and risk-taking behavior. TG even may make rodents attracted to the smell of cat urine. This is kind of like if in humans, a disease caused us to be perfectly normal in every way, except while swimming with a bleeding cut, the sight of a large shark fin coming closer didn’t bother us one bit.
And it’s not just rodents. TG has long-known links with schizophrenia- schizophrenics are three times as likely to have been infected by TG. This may mean that TG triggers people who are already genetically prone to schizophrenia to develop the disease. If TG affects us very similarly to how it affects rodents, then perhaps people who choose to live with dozens of cats are simply surrounding themselves with the smell of cat urine/pheromones, which the parasite in their heads finds super hot. (There’s no direct evidence of that idea, yet.)
But you would notice if you were schizophrenic or obsessed with cats, so you’re good, right?
No. No you are not.
It may alter the personalities of humans in more subtle ways. People with TG are more guilt-prone, self-blaming and neurotic! So next time you are feeling guilty, know that it’s not you, it’s just a horrible little parasite inside your head that hates you. And to get even weirder, it affects males and females differently. Females with TG are on average more intelligent, affectionate, friendly, dutiful and “more attractive to men.”
Toxoplasmosis: For Her
In fact, women with TG tend to be more promiscuous. On the other hand, males who get it are less intelligent, have less “superego strength,” are more aggressive, more antisocial and are viewed as less attractive by women. Men with TG have higher testosterone levels, while women with TG have lower testosterone levels. But hey guys, here’s one good thing- soccer teams from countries with higher TG infection levels are way more likely to win games.
Correlation isn’t causation, but the numbers strongly suggest that there is a link between TG infection and specific personality traits. And, mice, which are quite similar to us, clearly do show that TG causes behavior changes. (FYI: Treatment with dopamine-based meds can reverse their TG-induced behaviors)
Another bummer of TG is that, male or female, you are almost 3 times more likely to be in a car accident if you have it. It slows down reaction time, even in so-called asymptomatic infections. Why would a virus want to make men less intelligent, and us as humans more vulnerable? Oh, idk, maybe so we are more likely to get eaten by saber tooth tigers- especially men, who were the hunters back in the day. It’s also been suggested that TG makes females more attractive so they will get pregnant and pass it on to their fetus. (FYI: Fetal infection of TG can lead to terrible birth defects-this is why pregnant ladies are warned against handling cat feces.)
I will make you my bitch.
A researcher at UCLA suggested that TG has shaped cultures. “Neurotic cultures” are associated with male control, materialism and lots of rules/structure. Cultures with higher rates of TG infection do indeed tend to show those traits more than those with lower TG infection. One article notes that the study found “phlegmatic Britain, with a neuroticism score of -0.8 and a Toxoplasma infection rate of 6.6%,” as compared to “hot-blooded France, which scored 1.8 and had an infection rate of 45%.”
That’s not all, though. Toxoplasma gondii might make women much more likely to give birth to a boy. The normal ratio of male:female births is 104 males for every 100 females, or 0.51. This male:female ratio increased with increased levels of TG antibodies in pregnant women; women with the highest TG antibody level had a 0.72 chance (instead of a 0.51) chance of giving birth to a boy.
What does toxoplasma gondii want from us??? Can this little single-celled parasite have changed who we are as humans, on individual psychological levels and on region-wide cultural levels- all because it wants to get inside a cat’s stomach? How many other parasites are controlling us…right…now? I hope you are as terrified as I am.
Article Source: http://schorrmore.wordpress.com/2011/03/19/toxoplasmosis-the-parasite-that-owns-you/