Sgt_Gath
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- Jul 25, 2014
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HOW A CAT PARASITE AFFECTS YOUR BEHAVIOR, MENTAL HEALTH, AND SEX DRIVE
Yeesh. Apparently, this feline parasite is capable of controlling your mind without you even being aware. It seems to exist primarily to get you killed, theoretically, by a big cat, so that it can complete its life cycle.
It makes men more aggressive, careless, and promiscuous, while making women more docile. It can also cause conditions like schizophrenia and depression.
It seems to be fairly common as well, afflicting at least 10% of the population in the developed world, and possibly as much as 50% of the population worldwide.
My uncle actually came down with schizophrenia himself, after spending decades with cats as pets. I can't help but wonder if this might have been the cause.
Parasitic mind-control is common in the animal kingdom. The rabies virus produces a delirious rage in its dying host, causing the animal to infect new victims with its bite. The hairworm Spinochordodes tellinii manipulates the brains of crickets into committing suicide by leaping into water, where the worm can breed. When the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii enters a rodent, the animal’s natural fear of cat urine is reversed. The rodent becomes attracted to the odor of its predator, and when eaten, the parasite is able to spawn inside the feline’s intestines.
Although Toxoplasma is primarily a rodent parasite, human beings are not immune. Our cohabitation with cats ensures ample opportunity for toxoplasmosis to occur through fecal contact. Since its discovery in the early 1900s, the protozoan had been widely viewed as a relatively benign passenger in humans. The only perceived threat was to patients with compromised immune systems (such as people with AIDS) and pregnant women whose fetuses are often deformed or aborted by the pathogen. It was believed that a healthy human host could control the parasite indefinitely. New evidence suggests the opposite. Through a delicate finessing of the neurotransmitters in our brains, it is us who are being controlled.
Dr. Jaroslav Flegr was the first to make these claims in 2002. Analyzing traffic data, the Czech parasitologist discovered that toxoplasmosis-infected drivers are 2.6 times more likely to be involved in car crashes. Flegr sees a parallel between the risk-taking behavior of infected rodents and the risk-taking behavior of the infected motorists. It was a pattern the scientist had noticed first in himself.
While attending Charles University in Prague, the usually conscientious Flegr realized that he had suddenly become bolder. The student frequently found himself crossing the street without looking, oblivious to the blaring of car horns around him. He also began openly criticizing the Communist government, at a time when dissent was a crime. It wasn’t until he tested positive for toxoplasmosis as part of an unrelated research project that Flegr began to make sense of his recklessness. If the parasite could alter the behavior of rodents, he reasoned, why not humans too?
Flegr tested his theory by administering personality inventories to toxoplasma-positive and -negative populations. In test after test, the results were consistent. Infected men were “more likely to disregard rules,” and were more “suspicious, jealous, and dogmatic.” The traits of the women were the exact opposite. They were more “warm-hearted,” “outgoing,” and “moralistic.” A further decade of research has uncovered links to a variety of conditions as far-ranging as ADHD, OCD, schizophrenia, and suicidality.
I sat down recently with Dr. Flegr at his office in Prague to discuss how a tiny parasite living inside of at least 10 percent of Americans and 30 to 50 percent of the world’s population can so profoundly alter who we are.
Yeesh. Apparently, this feline parasite is capable of controlling your mind without you even being aware. It seems to exist primarily to get you killed, theoretically, by a big cat, so that it can complete its life cycle.
It makes men more aggressive, careless, and promiscuous, while making women more docile. It can also cause conditions like schizophrenia and depression.
It seems to be fairly common as well, afflicting at least 10% of the population in the developed world, and possibly as much as 50% of the population worldwide.
My uncle actually came down with schizophrenia himself, after spending decades with cats as pets. I can't help but wonder if this might have been the cause.