We’re probably all familiar with the stereotype of the so-called ‘Cat Lady’:

Objective Depiction

Supposedly possessed of a deranged devotion to cats (and an equally strong aversion to other humans), the Cat Lady is a commonplace reference in pop culture. Usually for comic purposes.

But as it turns out, there may be some scientific evidence behind this stereotype after all.

Jaroslav Flegr, Czech Evolutionary Biologist, argues that a feline parasite may be behind a range of human mental problems: from suicide to car crashes to schizophrenia.

Mind Controlling Parasites

The parasite: Toxoplasma gondii.  Excreted by cats in their feces, for decades pregnant women have been advised to avoid cat litter-boxes, due to the risk the parasite is known to pose to the brains of developing foetuses (in some cases, severe brain damage and death).

For years Fleger’s hypoethesis has been largely written off as a fringe theory. Recent findings have shown however that the T.gondii parasite is capable of actually re-wiring Rat’s brains: converting its aversion to cats into attraction, and delivering hapless rodents right into the claws of its feline nemesis. The object of this exercise for the parasite is naturally to breed and spread. Rabies functions in a similar way, pushing its host into a deranged frenzy and increasing the odds of saliva transmission via bites. Further parasites that similarly control the nervous systems of their hosts to carry out their breeding cycle have also been discovered.

Jaroslav Fleger: No Kook

Cat Consequences

Flegr speculates up to one-third of the world is infected with T.gondii. Whilst his data has linked T.gondii with increased risk of car accidents (due possibly to reduced fear response) and schizophrenia, there’s at least one positive:

According to Fleger’s data, infected men may be more attractive to women. Apparently men carrying T.gondii tend to have higher testosterone levels, for reasons yet unknown, and are generally rated by women as more ‘masculine-looking’.

Good to know that even mind-controlling parasites can have an upside!

Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/

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Jamie