Decrease of psychomotor performance in subjects with latent ‘asymptomatic’ toxoplasmosis

• Published in: Parasitology Vol. 122; no. 5; pp. 515 - 520
• Main Authors: HAVLÍČEK, J., GAšOVÁ, Z., SMITH, A. P., ZVÁRA, K., FLEGR, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.05.2001
• Subjects: Animals; behaviour; Biological and medical sciences; Blood transfusions; Changes; Developing countries; Double-Blind Method; Ecological adaptation; evolution; human; Human protozoal diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; LDCs; manipulation hypothesis; Medical sciences; Mens health; parasite; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Protozoal diseases; Psychomotor Performance; Public health; Reaction Time; reaction times; Studies; Toxoplasma; Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis; Toxoplasmosis - physiopathology; parasite; reaction times; Toxoplasma gondii; manipulation hypothesis; behaviour; evolution; human; Human; Protozoa; Host parasite relation; Apicomplexa; Protozoal disease; Biological evolution; Transmission; Behavior change; Parasite; Asymptomatic; Host; Parasitosis; Psychomotricity; Infection; Toxoplasmosis; Adaptation
• ISSN: 0031-1820; 1469-8161
• DOI: 10.1017/S0031182001007624

Toxoplasma gondii is known to induce specific behavioural changes in its intermediate hosts. This is usually considered to be an evolutionary adaptation aimed to increase the probability of transmission of the parasite into its definitive host, the cat, by predation. In rodents an increase of reaction time as well as many other specific behavioural patterns have been observed. Here we report the results of our double blind study showing the significantly longer reaction times of 60 subjects with latent toxoplasmosis in comparison with those of 56 controls. Moreover, the existence of a positive correlation between length of infection and mean reaction time suggested that slow and cumulative effects of latent toxoplasmosis rather than a one-step (and possibly transient) effect of acute toxoplasmosis disease are responsible for the decrease of psychomotor performance of infected subjects. To our knowledge, this is the first study confirming the existence of such parasite-induced changes in human behaviour that could be considered in evolutionary history of the human species as adaptive from the point of view of parasite transmission.