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A huge number of parasites can change the behavior of the organisms they infect. In some cases, parasites can even make their hosts display completely new behaviors. We understand very little about the mechanisms and pathways behind this interaction. To learn more, we investigated how a specific fungus changes the behavior of ants, by turning them into "zombie ants". The infected zombies climb high and latch onto twigs just before they die, which helps the fungus to spread its spores a further distance.
Our results suggest that the fungus takes over the brain, secreting LSD-like compounds, expressing proteins that change serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain, and altering the ability to communicate with nearby ants. Our genome and transcriptome dataset, obtained using both field and lab techniques, allowed us for the first time to dive a bit deeper into the mechanisms used to regulate behavior. In the long run this work might even lead to discoveries related to human brain health.
Is this avenue of inquiry really advisable?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday November 12 2015, @10:59AM
I did.
The correllation has been observed since the 1950s. While we do not have a definitive explanation, it is speculated that the adult schizophrenia is caused by the same cat feces parasite as causes Toxoplasmosis in pregnant women.
If that's actually the case I would expect the prevalence of schizophrenia to be lower among adults who had indoor cats as children, as cats pick up the parasite by eating mice.
What it does to the mice is make them less fearful of cats.
Schizophrenia is thought to have several causes, that is, it's not just one disease it is several diseases each of which has similar symptoms.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Thursday November 12 2015, @11:55AM
Even your rhesus blood group is significant according to research: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0061272 [plos.org]
I remember reading about a study that found a correlation with traffic accidents, because affected people show a "startle second" (can't think of a better translation) when faced with sudden danger. They freeze for a second, which is a proven parasite strategy in the case of mice and cats.
I'm not affected by this although I used to have cats for many years, but this is one of those amazing research outcomes that one never forgets.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday November 12 2015, @01:20PM
I expect that's why they remain unsure as to why children who have cats become adult schizophrenics.
It's a correllation, not a sure thing. I expect one could take fecal samples from all the cats that are around children, then track the children through adulthood but to the best of my knowledge that has yet to be done.
Also there are many people who carry that parasite in their brains who are not schizophrenic.
Maybe one becomes schizophrenic because one dislikes mice.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]