MyQJ | QJ.NET | iPhone | MMORPG | Nintendo DS | Wii | PlayStation 3 | PSP | Xbox 360 | Downloads | QJ.NET Forums | Advertise on QJ!

Parasite in cat's pee can alter human fear

Posted Apr 04, 2007 at 06:15AM by Dia A. Listed in: Animals and Wildlife, Mental Health, Biology, Neurology, Psychology Tags: Stanford University, T. gondii
Ó

cat's pee can make you ... crazy? - Image 1 Fear, the ever-powerful unpleasant feeling of real or imagined risk or danger, can be controlled by a certain substance: cat's pee. Well, not exactly cat's pee, but the parasite that thrives in it.


This parasite, known as Toxoplasma gondii, is a parasitic germ whose primary hosts are cats. The parasite may also thrive in most warm-blooded animals, and even humans. It's been estimated that half of the world population is infected by this parasite, altering human fears and even determining human culture.

Neuroscientists from the Stanford University found out that this very same parasite can target certain fears very accurately. For example, rats have an instinctive fear of cat's pee. When infected with the T. gondii parasite, however, rats begin to develop a liking for cat's pee so much that the rodents start hanging out on areas that smell of kitty's wee-wee, making them easy kitty lunch.

The explanation is that the parasites like cat hosts better, because only in cats can they reproduce sexually. The parasites reproduce asexually in other species. Living in cats' brains will make the parasites start their sexual stage in life.

The scientists believe that if they unlock the secrets of the T. gondii parasite, they may be able to use it to favor humanity, being able to modify human fears and phobias. The parasites are known to thrive in the amygdala, a region of the human brain related to fears.

Now the question is, what if we start liking what we fear? That would be like, creepy ... in a likeable way.

[Via Live Science] Permalink  |   Email this  |   Linking Blogs   |   Digg It!

Bookmark / Find this article on:

0 Comments


Sort by:


Contact
QJ.NET Blog Network RSS Feeds
MyQJ Feed / PDA
MyQJ RSS / PDA
Blog of Blogs Feed / PDA
QJ.NET RSS / PDA
Gaming Consoles Feed / PDA
Nintendo DS RSS / PDA
PlayStation 3 RSS / PDA
PSP Updates RSS / PDA
Wii RSS / PDA
Xbox 360 RSS / PDA
PC Gaming Feed / PDA
Age of Conan RSS / PDA
Games for Windows RSS / PDA
MMORPG RSS / PDA
Tabula Rasa RSS / PDA
World of Warcraft RSS / PDA
Science Feed / PDA
Science RSS / PDA
Technology Feed / PDA
Apple RSS / PDA
Gadgets RSS / PDA
iPhone RSS / PDA
Mobile RSS / PDA
Photography RSS / PDA
Tech RSS / PDA
Add QJ.NET
Add to My Yahoo!
Google Reader Subscribe with Bloglines
Add to your Kinja digest Subscribe in NewsGator Online
Subscribe with Pluck RSS reader Add 'www.qj.net' to Newsburst from CNET News.com
Subscribe with SearchFox RSS del.icio.us www.qj.net
Add to Technorati Favorite! Add to My AOL
furl! it Stumble for Treehugger!
User Favorites - October
Most Commented
No commented articles
User Favorites - October
Top Jumps
No available articles using criteria

 Username: 
 Password:
Forgot password
New user registration



Poll
Are unidentified flying objects (UFOs) really alien spaceships?
Earth Science
General Science
Health Science
Space
Archives


Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the TERMS & CONDITIONS and PRIVACY POLICY
Copyright © 2006, Content Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Version. 1.31