{"id":9215,"date":"2006-01-23T07:16:26","date_gmt":"2006-01-23T14:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2006\/01\/23\/its-all-the-cats-fault.html"},"modified":"2006-01-23T07:16:26","modified_gmt":"2006-01-23T14:16:26","slug":"its_all_the_cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/01\/23\/its_all_the_cat.html","title":{"rendered":"It’s all the cat’s fault"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

An interesting discussion here about how the toxoplasma parasite in cats — which can apparently affect rats to make them not be afraid of kitties (allowing the parasites to end up back in cat guts) — can also affect humans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Oxford scientists knew that humans can be hosts to Toxoplasma, too. People can become infected by its eggs by handling soil or kitty litter. For most people, the infection causes no harm. Only if a person’s immune system is weak does Toxoplasma grow uncontrollably. That’s why pregnant women are advised not to handle kitty litter, and why toxoplasmosis is a serious risk for people with AIDS. Otherwise, the parasite lives quietly in people’s bodies (and brains). It’s estimated that about half of all people on Earth are infected with Toxoplasma.<\/p>\n

Given that human and rat brains have a lot of similarities (they share the same basic anatomy and use the same neurotransmitters), a question naturally arose: if Toxoplasma can alter the behavior of a rat, could it alter a human? Obviously, this manipulation would not do the parasite any good as an adaptation, since it’s pretty rare for a human to be devoured by a cat. But it could still have an effect.<\/p>\n

Some scientists believe that Toxoplasma changes the personality of its human hosts, bringing different shifts to men and women. Parasitologist Jaroslav Flegr of Charles University in Prague administered psychological questionnaires to people infected with Toxoplasma and controls. Those infected, he found, show a small, but statistically significant, tendency to be more self-reproaching and insecure. Paradoxically, infected women, on average, tend to be more outgoing and warmhearted than controls, while infected men tend to be more jealous and suspicious.<\/p>\n

And, evidently, anti-schizophrenia drugs counteract the effects of toxoplasma in rats.<\/p>\n

Puts Blofeld and his cat in a whole new light, I think.<\/p>\n

(via Marginal Revolution<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interesting discussion here about how the toxoplasma parasite in cats — which can apparently affect rats to make them not be afraid of kitties (allowing the parasites to end…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26273,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/02\/10\/crazy-cat-drives-cat-owner-crazy.html","url_meta":{"origin":9215,"position":0},"title":"Crazy Cat Drives Cat-Owner Crazy!","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 10-Feb-12 5:30pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, maybe not. But it sounds like there's growing evidence that the Toxoplasma gondii parasite can have an affect on animals, including humans. Kinda creepifying ... #ddtb Embedded Link How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy Jaroslav Flegr is no kook. And yet, for years, he suspected his mind had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42210,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/26\/yes-which-kitty-litter-you-choose-does-make-a-difference.html","url_meta":{"origin":9215,"position":1},"title":"Yes, which kitty litter you choose DOES make a difference","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 26-May-14 9:35pm","format":false,"excerpt":"If you are using it for the safe storage of your nuclear waste, at least.\ufeff Organic Cat Litter Chief Suspect In Nuclear Waste Accident The release of plutonium at a New Mexico nuclear dump may have been caused by a bad purchase at the pet shop. View this post on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21917,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/08\/02\/farewell-indy.html","url_meta":{"origin":9215,"position":2},"title":"Farewell, Indy","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 2-Aug-11 10:15pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Tonight, we drank, as a family, a toast to Indy, our cat. * \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 * Back when I first got onto the Internet, I ended up participating in the Belief-L Listserv, the \"Personal Ideologies Discussion List.\" \u00a0In 1996, for a second year running, we had a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pets"","block_context":{"text":"Pets","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/personal\/pets"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/\/images\/1e4ac24021.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":49442,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/01\/31\/detente-kitty-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":9215,"position":3},"title":"Detente (Kitty Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 31-Jan-15 3:12pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Purrl has been with us for some months now, and has remained somewhat stand-offish with the other two cats, Kunoichi and Neko. Not actively hostile, but hissing when one gets too close (\"But ... but ... I only wanted to sniff your butt!\") or an occasional bat at someone strolling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_20150130_214940496.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_20150130_214940496.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_20150130_214940496.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14230,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/03\/16\/new-kitty-is-home-sequestered.html","url_meta":{"origin":9215,"position":4},"title":"New kitty is home, sequestered…","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 16-Mar-09 6:47pm","format":false,"excerpt":"New kitty is home, sequestered in the craft room with food, water, litter box, and constant attention.. Much exploration ensues.","rel":"","context":"In "~Tweets"","block_context":{"text":"~Tweets","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/tweets"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13764,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/02\/17\/mists-tale.html","url_meta":{"origin":9215,"position":5},"title":"Mist’s tale","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 17-Feb-09 6:38pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I've told this story many times before, so apologies if you've heard it. It all started about 18 years ago. I thought it was 17, but Margie's usually better at calculating dates of this sort. It was an earlier marriage, and Cheryl and I -- petless at the time --\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pets"","block_context":{"text":"Pets","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/personal\/pets"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mist","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3204\/3127824138_4a705f5583.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}