Yeah, remember that time I said I was constantly horrified and amazed by the natural world around us? Well I just found a doozy.
There is a disease called Toxoplasmosis that is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. that actually effects most warm blooded species, but the parasite's primary host is cats. Although it can asexually reproduce within virtually any warm-blooded animal, its only way to sexually reproduce is actually within the intestines of a cat.
Here's an image found on Wikipedia:
Anyway, this parasite works pretty hard to ensure that its species survives. Generally speaking this disease is passed on through the ingestion of fecal matter from cats and through the ingestion of raw meats. But I found one of its survival tactics to be completely bizarre.
Wanna guess what it does?
Betcha can't!
Well, I'll give you a clue. When scientists began testing rodents that had been infected by this parasite, they found that it most often concentrated near the amygdala in the brain. Now the amygdala sort of... presides over feelings of anxiety and fear. According to Wikipedia, when these scientists began their testing they found that
Cool, right? Essentially the toxoplasma kind of took out a lot of the rats' fear center, making them bolder and allowing them to take more risks.
But that isn't the most insane part. Not by half.
Scientists also began to find that a certain smell was actually drawing the rats in. This specific smell was one that generally rodents would hold a pretty strong aversion to. Their natural instincts would tell them to run.
Wanna guess what that smell was?
CAT. URINE.
Toxoplasmosis was actually causing the rats to be more drawn to their predators in order for the disease to be passed on.
Manuel Berdoy, a zoologist at Oxford University in England, said that it is "astonishing that [T. gondii] may be able to target specifically the neural pathways responsible for processing cat odors."
As a final kicker, some preliminary tests showed a very strange part of the brain light up when infected rodents smelled these strong cat odors.
The part of the brain that has to do with sexual attraction.
WHAT.
WHAT.
WHAT.
Just process that for a minute.
WHAT.
Parasites are terrifying. And amazing.
Oh, and another fun fact, T. gondii can also infect humans and research is beginning to show that it may cause some behavioral changes within people as well. Apparently a study in the Czech Republic found that latent toxoplasmosis patients were involved in accidents 2.65 more times than people without toxoplasmosis infection. (Wikipedia) Also, infection with the parasite has been related to quite a few neurological disorders including schizophrenia. Apparently there is also a close positive link between toxoplasmosis and suicide. As such, "crazy cat lady syndrome" has been coined as a term that describes the link between the two.
!!!HOWEVER!!! Please don't let the fear of this keep you from giving a kitty a home, or cause you to get rid of a kitty you already have. Research has found that cat ownership does not strongly increase the risk of catching T. gondii infection. In fact, eating unwashed vegetables and undercooked meat hold a much higher risk factor.
Wash your hands and keep your kids away from the litter box and you should be just fine. I should also add that generally speaking, this parasite will only cause mild flu-like symptoms. If the infected person has a weak immune system it can in rare cases be fatal.
Yaaaaaaay!
EDIT: I found a Stuff You Should Know article about toxoplasma! SYSK is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to. You can find it here, worth the listen!
There is a disease called Toxoplasmosis that is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. that actually effects most warm blooded species, but the parasite's primary host is cats. Although it can asexually reproduce within virtually any warm-blooded animal, its only way to sexually reproduce is actually within the intestines of a cat.
Here's an image found on Wikipedia:
Anyway, this parasite works pretty hard to ensure that its species survives. Generally speaking this disease is passed on through the ingestion of fecal matter from cats and through the ingestion of raw meats. But I found one of its survival tactics to be completely bizarre.
Wanna guess what it does?
Betcha can't!
Well, I'll give you a clue. When scientists began testing rodents that had been infected by this parasite, they found that it most often concentrated near the amygdala in the brain. Now the amygdala sort of... presides over feelings of anxiety and fear. According to Wikipedia, when these scientists began their testing they found that
"Rats infected with the parasite show increased levels of activity and decreased neophobic behavior. Similarly, infected mice show alterations in patterns of locomotion
and exploratory behavior during experimental tests. These patterns
include traveling greater distances, moving at higher speeds,
accelerating for longer periods of time, and showing a decreased
pause-time when placed in new arenas. Infected rodents have also been shown to have differences in traditional measures of anxiety, such as elevated plus mazes, open field arenas, and social interaction tests."
Cool, right? Essentially the toxoplasma kind of took out a lot of the rats' fear center, making them bolder and allowing them to take more risks.
But that isn't the most insane part. Not by half.
Scientists also began to find that a certain smell was actually drawing the rats in. This specific smell was one that generally rodents would hold a pretty strong aversion to. Their natural instincts would tell them to run.
Wanna guess what that smell was?
CAT. URINE.
Toxoplasmosis was actually causing the rats to be more drawn to their predators in order for the disease to be passed on.
Manuel Berdoy, a zoologist at Oxford University in England, said that it is "astonishing that [T. gondii] may be able to target specifically the neural pathways responsible for processing cat odors."
As a final kicker, some preliminary tests showed a very strange part of the brain light up when infected rodents smelled these strong cat odors.
The part of the brain that has to do with sexual attraction.
WHAT.
WHAT.
WHAT.
Just process that for a minute.
WHAT.
Parasites are terrifying. And amazing.
Oh, and another fun fact, T. gondii can also infect humans and research is beginning to show that it may cause some behavioral changes within people as well. Apparently a study in the Czech Republic found that latent toxoplasmosis patients were involved in accidents 2.65 more times than people without toxoplasmosis infection. (Wikipedia) Also, infection with the parasite has been related to quite a few neurological disorders including schizophrenia. Apparently there is also a close positive link between toxoplasmosis and suicide. As such, "crazy cat lady syndrome" has been coined as a term that describes the link between the two.
!!!HOWEVER!!! Please don't let the fear of this keep you from giving a kitty a home, or cause you to get rid of a kitty you already have. Research has found that cat ownership does not strongly increase the risk of catching T. gondii infection. In fact, eating unwashed vegetables and undercooked meat hold a much higher risk factor.
Wash your hands and keep your kids away from the litter box and you should be just fine. I should also add that generally speaking, this parasite will only cause mild flu-like symptoms. If the infected person has a weak immune system it can in rare cases be fatal.
Yaaaaaaay!
EDIT: I found a Stuff You Should Know article about toxoplasma! SYSK is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to. You can find it here, worth the listen!
No comments:
Post a Comment