Eating You from Within

Here is a talk by Jim McKerrow on parasites. Good stuff...



One of the most interesting stories occurs at 1:18:50 into the video when he talk about toxoplasmosis. From Wikipedia:

It has been found that the parasite has the ability to change the behavior of its host: infected rats and mice are less fearful of cats — in fact, some of the infected rats seek out cat-urine-marked areas. This effect is advantageous to the parasite, which will be able to sexually reproduce if its host is eaten by a cat. The mechanism for this change is not completely understood, but there is evidence that toxoplasmosis infection raises dopamine levels and concentrates in the amygdala in infected mice.

And...

There are claims of toxoplasma causing antisocial attitudes in men and promiscuity (or even "signs of higher intelligence") in women, and greater susceptibility to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in all infected persons.