Mind-Altering Cat Parasite Linked To Schizophrenia in Largest Study Yet (sciencealert.com) 116
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.
If this explains why I smooch cats... (Score:4, Funny)
...then I'm no longer filled with self-loathing.
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Thank you! Excellent and witty tutorial on toxoplasmosis (and how you don't need to get rid of your beloved cat to stay healthy).
Re:I wonder (Score:5, Informative)
It's permanent, some treatments can help against latent cases but they only use it for AIDS patients.
Crazy Cat Ladies (Score:3)
It explains the Crazy Cat Ladies.
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It explains the Crazy Cat Ladies.
Ladies who like cats or actual cat ladies?
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Maybe a little.
Someone who has immune system problem is sick a lot, so would probably like to have a cat as company.
Such cat may have the parasite, and then the person get schizophrenia and inhibits a lot of the "Crazy" like symptoms.
bioweapons (Score:2)
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.
My cats rule the world (Score:1)
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Grab them by the ... cat.
Basically... (Score:4, Funny)
... this explains why cats are taking over teh world.
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And I, for one, welcome our new feline overlords!
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... this explains why cats are taking over teh world.
I've always suspected that they were up to something sinister, when one said, "Sieg Miaow!" to me:
http://www.catsthatlooklikehit... [catsthatlo...hitler.com]
Yet another reason.... (Score:2, Insightful)
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Re:Yet another reason.... (Score:5, Informative)
While the cats are the primary host for toxoplasmosis, the main source of transmission in your country is raw meat and unwashed fruits and vegetables.
Re:Yet another reason.... (Score:5, 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?
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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.
This is why I find quite often than people who hate cats (and I don't mean merely dislike) and love dogs have some unresolved issues or authoritarian tendencies. It's like they can't tolerate coexisting with an independent animal that doesn't obey your every command. Sure, I love dogs, and will gladly spend time with a good one, but I prefer cats. 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, th
Re:Yet another reason.... (Score:4, 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.
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A cat is fine too.
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So, you're saying that pretty much any form of pussy will eventually just hang there with you, sponge off your resources and pay you attention on their whims?
I guess if you let either hang around too long, sure...but if you trade in your woman every few months, you don't risk that, nor do you risk giving half your shit up.
If a cat lover...well, not sure what the benef
Re:Yet another reason.... (Score:5, Funny)
Dogs give you unconditional love...not sure what you get out of a cat.
Apparently schizophrenia.
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I've had dogs all my life but recently I got cats. Never really been a fan of cats. However, my cats have the type of personality where they seek out affection and don't just hide under the couch all day.
That's actually how most cats are... most cats are affectionate... here's the thing though, you have to earn their affection. They won't give it up for strangers like dogs will.
People who think cats just hide all the time have never had a cat and only experienced how other people's cats act towards them.
Above people were comparing cats to wives... Your wife will probably have intimate times with you but not with strangers. You wouldn't expect your wife to go rubbing all over your buddies when they come i
Re: Yet another reason.... (Score:1)
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>"If a cat lover...well, not sure what the benefit is there[...] what really do you get in return? Dogs give you unconditional love...not sure what you get out of a cat."
Seriously? Dogs give you their unconditional *subjugation*. So how much does that dog affection actually mean compared to the affection a cat gives when they do NOT give unconditional subjugation? I don't expect subjugation from my friends; there is nothing wrong with not expecting that from my pet. I have been around cats all my lif
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Try getting a wife instead. You eventually end up with basically the same arrangement, but there's also the occasional opportunity for sex.
And just try getting a cat to sign a prenup.
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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?
Because my 50lb dog already tries to do that second part, too.
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....to own a dog instead of a cat.
Or maybe we should just move on to apes as pets?
Nothing could go wrong there . . .
Cats Have Staff (Score:1)
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.
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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.
It makes sense though. It explains why people with one cat rarely stop at one cat and usually get a second... or a third... or more.
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It makes sense though. It explains why people with one cat rarely stop at one cat and usually get a second... or a third... or more.
No, most cat owners do not have multiple cats.
A few do, but then there are multiple dog owners too.
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https://www.smbc-comics.com/co... [smbc-comics.com]
Explains the crazy cat lady phenomena (Score:4, Interesting)
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Re:Explains the crazy cat lady phenomena (Score:4, Insightful)
Or it's just a joke.
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So the lady on the Simpsons that throws cats at people was just schizo from cat parasites.
Or it's just a joke.
Y'know, THAT is the exact reasons why I prefer anime/cartoon over real-life actors. With live action set in current time like CSI, people might become confused about things. "That picture is just too pixelated -- let's zoom in to see the details." Also, actual CSI Effect [nij.gov] - "Our criminal justice system must find ways to adapt to increased expectations"
You can't get confused over a cartoon, there is Absolutely. No. Way. to get them confused with things in real life. (The bright colors usually give it aw
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Remember, you need to replace the batteries in your humor detector twice a year.
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When I was a kid I had a neighbor who was an actual crazy cat lady, me and the other kids were warned to stay away from her house. I found out years later that she had schizophrenia. I've also met a few bird/squirrel ladies who have dementia at the least.
Really? (Score:5, Interesting)
IMHO, if T.gondii is hosted by 2 billion people worldwide, then it's rather a human parasite than a "cat parasite".
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The cat is the carrier and beneficiary. Humans and rodents are the hosts and victims.
A hundred years from now, after we have effective treatments, people will look back at this as a major health crisis that was barely understood.
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not a major health crisis if only the unhealthy are susceptible and there are no symptoms in most people. looking for something to wring your hands over? this is a non-issue, rarely is there a toxic infection.
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not a major health crisis if only the unhealthy are susceptible and there are no symptoms in most people. looking for something to wring your hands over? this is a non-issue, rarely is there a toxic infection.
why do you assume that there might not be undetected issues. Might this correlate with things like slightly reduced risk aversion, may it contirbute to depression, may it contribute to a lack of ability to control your food intake or may it contribute to imagining that when no direct link to symptoms have been discovered it is totally safe?
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not enough depressed people around to think that massive infection rate correlates.
there are plenty of other nasty things living in 25 percent or more of people but you're hyperfocused on the topic of the day
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IIRC it has the effect opposite of depression, making people more outgoing, uninhibited and assertive, slightly dumber and more promiscuous. This is because the parasite secretes an analog of some neurohormone, either serotonin or dopamine. It's thought that asians are more reserved because their t. gondii infection rates are far lower than in western cultures.
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I agree that it is not a health crisis. It is, however, a significant health issue.
A better understanding of toxoplasmosis could lead to prevention or treatment of some instances of schizophrenia.
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No. It would be fair to call it a mouse parasite, because the mouse is a part of the natural life cycle, but instances of T.gondii that end up infecting people are dead ended (unless the person is eaten by a leopard or some other cat). So while lots of humans are infected, and their behavior probably altered, it only indirectly affects any T.gondii, and doesn't benefit those that are infecting the person.
T.gondii needs to be eaten by some kind of cat or other to complete its life cycle. (So calling is a
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They aren't identical. Look into how bacteria reproduce, and their rate of copying errors. It's like killing yourself so several of your third cousins will have a more successful life. Or possibly fourth cousins.
That said, it's true that the "cat lady" creation benefits the bacteria that are hosted in the cat, and they are loosely related to the bacteria that cause the benefit, but that's not the kind of thing evolution favors very strongly. What's more likely is that there's a foolish action as a resu
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That said, if you meet a girl with half a dozen cats who does not mind living in an apartment that reeks of cat pee and has bedded with with half a dozen men in the last six months, then it would probably be wise to not eat an
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Time to ban cats (Score:1, Flamebait)
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.
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Awww! I want someone to leave me a cute kitty in a cardboard box [kym-cdn.com].
This shouldn't be too much of a problem.. (Score:2)
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After all, how many mind-altering cats are there, really?
Just one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Crazy Cat Woman is a disease. (Score:2)
This insight has been around for two decades or so.
We've talked about this before (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Too bad there's no cure (Score:4, Informative)
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.
With 6 cats (Score:2)
I got space maaaaadddddnesssss!
an obvious symbiotic adaptation (Score:2)
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!
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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!
Except ... humans crave the presence of, and care for, other cute furry animals too.
How do they pull it off?
oy (Score:2)
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.
Public Health Crisis (Score:1)
This explains the insanity of Democrats, yes? They're all infected with this?
How do we know it is a parasite? (Score:2)
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We know it's a parasite because it feeds off us. Note that being a parasite doesn't automatically mean it's harmful to us; if it were beneficial, it'd be called a symbiont.