[UgSlayer]

There's a theory that toxoplasma, a parasite found in cats and eventually in human brains, can manipulate human behavior, making men more aggressive and jealous, and making women more warm-hearted, conscientious about their looks, and promiscuous.

It's estimated that more than 60 percent of Brazil is living with this parasite.

[Roosh]

[Badstuber]

(04-06-2011 11:39 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

Search Google

[Dash Global]

we need to bring that shit to the US. And infect the women population! ha

[Mrs. Chocolate]

I didn't eat cat poop.

[hydrogonian]

yeah, that shit also gives you schizophrenia. No pun intended. And you don't need to eat it. Breathing in the dust of a cat litter box, with old shit in it (more than 24-48 hours old), is enough.

[Roosh]

(04-06-2011 11:46 AM)Badstuber Wrote:  

(04-06-2011 11:39 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

Search Google

It's my job to do someone's research who posts an affirmative statement?

Your attitude on the forum has of late has been entirely negative. You may want to take a time out.

[Kaizen]

I believe toxo is screened in all pregnant women as it can be passed to the fetus

Cant be bothered to search google as it sounds like bs. Roosh I'm guessing u think the same-don't u have a micro background?

[UgSlayer]

Apologies for not linking. Was in a rush when i posted it this morning.

http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjourn...3/757.full

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmos...al_changes

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/02/cou...a-gon.html

First heard about it through an audio clip of Joe Rogan on youtube. He saw some documentary on it, which postulates the cultural implications of having a parasite alter the behavior of such a large percentage of a country's population. He doesn't mention the title and i haven't been able to find it. Rogan has a lot of interesting and unbelievable theories. I personally don't believe it has such a huge impact because the study seems shaky and like they already had a conclusion in mind (first link). But it's an interesting theory.

[gringochileno]

As a medical student this sounds like it's most likely bullshit. Even if 60% of the population had the organism they wouldn't all be displaying symptoms, and if I'm not mistaken toxoplasmosis also presents with a constellation of other symptoms that would be showing up alongside the behavioral changes. You also have to consider that epidemiologically, if the majority of Brazilians had this organism then residents of neighboring countries would most likely have a lot of it too, and we know that crossing the border into Argentina pretty much wipes out the effect.

I can check Uptodate when I get on campus tomorrow but I seriously doubt there's any evidence of toxoplasmosis having a broad effect on personalities in the region.

edit: also, money quote from the research article UgSlayer posted:

Quote:

Alternate explanations for the effects of T .
gondii on humans cannot be ruled out . It is
possible , eg, that individuals with certain
personality characteristics behave in a manner
that makes it more likely that they will become
infected . For example , it was found that specific
risk factors for Toxoplasma infection , such as
contact with cats and the eating of raw or
undercooked meat , were also related to some of
Cattell 's personality factors . However, these
personality factors were different from those
related to Toxoplasma infection .4 Confounding
factors must also be considered as possible
explanations . For example , in some countries,
infection with T . gondii occurs more commonly
in rural areas that is also where individuals are
likely to have less education and consequently
score lower on tests of verbal intelligence .18
This can produce a spurious association
between T . gondii infection and intelligence.

Correlation does not imply causation. The study is associational which means that their results could be due to either reverse causation or a confounding variable (i.e., people who have these personality traits are more likely to get a toxoplasma infection).

Is there any correlation between countries that have high rates of infection and countries where the personality traits are more prevalent? Can we control for factors like economic development and the degree of exposure to feminist ideas?

[gringochileno]

To follow up, I actually researched this for shits and giggles. Uptodate doesn't have much in the way of psych symptoms for toxoplasma but I did find a few articles on PubMed linking a history of acute symptomatic toxoplasmosis to an increased risk of developing psychosis, possibly mediated by changes in the balance of brain neurotransmitters like dopamine that affect things like mood and happiness. It's possible that this could manifest as non-pathological personality changes in less severe cases but I couldn't find any specific evidence of that. Again, the link to psychosis is only significant when someone has actually had acute symptoms, which is much rarer than the organism's prevalence in the general population. My general sense is still that this is probably bullshit even though it's not completely outside the realm of possibility that toxoplasma infection could have an effect on personality.

Also, even if you don't consider the clinical evidence, I'd point out that some of the countries with the highest rates of toxoplasma infection (France, Germany, the Netherlands) aren't exactly known for their sexy, feminine, slutty women and jealous, aggressive men. If there is any effect it's almost completely washed out by cultural factors.