Brain parasite may strip away rodents' fear of predators—not just of cats
But a new study argues that T. gondii's effects on rodents aren't cat specific; instead, the parasite simply makes mice more eager to explore and less fearful of any species that might gobble them up.
Parasite makes mice lose fear of cats permanently | Nature
Sep 18, 2013 · Toxoplasma gondii is known to remove rodents’ innate fear of cats. The new research shows that even months after infection, when parasites are no longer detectable, the effect remains....
Once a Toxoplasma Parasite Infects Mice, They Never Fear Cats …
Sep 19, 2013 · Some speculated that inflammation or parasite eggs in the brain might account for the mice’s inexplicable feline love. Now, it seems, that is not the case. According to new research, that...
Brain Parasite Strips Rodents of Fears of Felines—and So Much …
Jan 15, 2020 · When a team led by Dominique Soldati-Favre, a parasitologist at the University of Geneva, exposed Toxoplasma- infected mice to a smorgasbord of smells from bobcats, foxes, guinea pigs and...
The Effect of Toxoplasma gondii on Animal Behavior: Playing Cat and Mouse
Because sexual reproduction of T. gondii can be accomplished only in felines, there are strong selective pressures on the parasite to evolve mechanisms to enhance transmission from the intermediate host to the definitive feline host and thereby complete its life cycle.
A parasite that makes mice unafraid of cats may quash other …
Jan 14, 2020 · Toxoplasma gondii, tweaked to glow green, was isolated from the brain of an infected mouse. Pierre-Mehdi Hammoudi, Damien Jacot. The parasite needs to get into the guts of cats to sexually...
New Study: Toxoplasma Infection May Make Mice Permanently Fearless of Cats
Oct 2, 2013 · While earlier studies showed that mice lose their fear of bobcat urine for a few weeks after infection, Ingram showed that the three most common strains of T. gondii make mice less fearful of cats for at least four months.
Mind-Bending Parasite Permanently Quells Cat Fear in Mice
Apr 25, 2013 · Normal mice, even lab-born ones that have never met a cat, have an innate fear of cat smells. Those infected with Toxo do not. They (and their parasites) are more likely to end up in a cat....
Mice lose cat fear for good after infection - Science News
Sep 18, 2013 · W.M. Ingram, et al. Mice infected with low-virulence strains of Toxoplasma gondii lose their innate aversion to cat urine, even after extensive parasite clearance.
Mice Infected with Low-Virulence Strains of Toxoplasma gondii …
Sep 18, 2013 · Toxoplasma gondii chronic infection in rodent secondary hosts has been reported to lead to a loss of innate, hard-wired fear toward cats, its primary host. However the generality of this response across T. gondii strains and the underlying mechanism for this pathogen-mediated behavioral change remain unknown.