Toxoplasma Could Manipulate Our Behavior | Hacker News Reader

Toxoplasma Could Manipulate Our Behavior

scientificamerican.com

73 pointskungfudoi23 comments

Here's some prior submissions about this or that are on the same subject[1][2][3]. I think I'm missing a more recent one with more comments though.

1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1420315

2: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3573694

3: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=789517

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8443309

> Toxoplasma gondii, can override a rodent's most basic survival instincts. The result is a rodent that does not race away from a cat but is instead strangely attracted to it.

Perhaps humans who think cats are cute are actually experiencing the same effect from the parasite.

Perhaps cats are just cute?

> Then they sacrificed the animals and looked at their brains.

That seems... extreme. Interesting word choice there!

Surprisingly, this is the norm for research with animal models

> animal models

Strange, i never heard "human model" in the research context. I've always felt that the usage of "animal model" is a reprehensible euphemism here. Research on animals. Minimum we owe them is to call it as it is.

“Sacrifice” is common scientific parlance for the killing of experimental animals.

In the name of Science (and Cthulhu) I sacrifice you!

There's a god for that. [0] Although she would more likely be miffed that you offed one of her progeny.

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos_deities#Bast

"Curiously, infected men found cat urine odor more pleasant than uninfected men; in women, the opposite occurred."

I read somewhere that they sometimes put this odor in perfumes (such as Chanel 5), I find it interesting to see this process must make it less attractive to women and more to to men, I wonder if they also put it in men's perfumes.

I've had cats for all my life and I would assume to be "infected" by this point, but I can say, without reservation, I have never enjoyed the smell of cat urine.

That's not a data point in itself ;) How does your hate for the scent stack up against your friends of the same sex?

Relatively equal, or close enough to not be measurable by casual observation influenced by the variances of long-term memory.

IIRC, the infection rate in the US is relatively low, but other countries (Brazil) are extremely high.

If you’ve never had or lived around outdoor cats, you’re almost certainly not infected.

Here is a podcast from radiolab that talk about parasites http://www.radiolab.org/story/91689-parasites/

Why, yes, it has been a couple months since the last Toxoplasma freakout in the press. Guess we were due for one.

Despite the title, I found the details regarding rodent brains and the kiss and spit mechanism much more engaging and convincing than the discussion of effects on humans.

> infected women tend to be extraverted, trusting and obedient.

In light of the stereotype of the spinster cat lady, I find this very difficult to believe. You'd think some man somewhere would pick up on that.

Is there any way to treat it?

FTA:

Once infected, a person will remain a carrier for life. Our immune system is apparently incapable of eliminating the tissue cysts, nor can any known drug.

> Instead of smelling danger, the rats smell love.

The story of my life.

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