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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Mind Control by Parasites |
| 2006-02-13 |
| Half of the world's human population is infected with Toxoplasma, parasites in the body—and the brain. Remember that. Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite found in the guts of cats; it sheds eggs that are picked up by rats and other animals that are eaten by cats. Toxoplasma forms cysts in the bodies of the intermediate rat hosts, including in the brain. Since cats don't want to eat dead, decaying prey, Toxoplasma takes the evolutionarily sound course of being a "good" parasite, leaving the rats perfectly healthy. Or are they? Oxford scientists discovered that the minds of the infected rats have been subtly altered. In a series of experiments, they demonstrated that healthy rats will prudently avoid areas that have been doused with cat urine. In fact, when scientists test anti-anxiety drugs on rats, they use a whiff of cat urine to induce neurochemical panic. However, it turns out that Toxoplasma-ridden rats show no such reaction. In fact, some of the infected rats actually seek out the cat urine-marked areas again and again. The parasite alters the mind (and thus the behavior) of the rat for its own benefit. If the parasite can alter rat behavior, does it have any effect on humans? Dr. E. Fuller Torrey (Associate Director for Laboratory Research at the Stanley Medical Research Institute) noticed links between Toxoplasma and schizophrenia in human beings, approximately three billion of whom are infected with T. gondii: Toxoplasma infection is associated with damage to astrocytes, glial cells which surround and support neurons. Schizophrenia is also associated with damage to astrocytes. Dr. Torrey got together with the Oxford scientists, to see if anything could be done about those parasite-controlled rats that were driven to hang around cat urine-soaked corners (waiting for cats). According to a recent press release, haloperidol restores the rat's healthy fear of cat urine. In fact, antipsychotic drugs were as effective as pyrimethamine, a drug that specifically eliminates Toxoplasma. Are parasites like Toxoplasma subtly altering human behavior? As it turns out, science fiction writers have been thinking about whether or not parasites could alter a human being's behavior, or even take control of a person. In his 1951 novel The Puppet Masters, Robert Heinlein wrote about alien parasites the size of dinner plates that took control of the minds of their hosts, flooding their brains with neurochemicals. In this excerpt, a volunteer strapped to a chair allows a parasite to be introduced; the parasite rides him, taking over his mind. Under these conditions, it is possible to interview the parasite; however, it refuses to answer until zapped with a cattle prod. He reached past my shoulders with a rod. I felt a shocking, unbearable pain. The room blacked out as if a switch had been thrown.. I was split apart by it; for the moment I was masterless. Still not sure that parasites can manipulate the behavior of host organisms? Consider these other cases: The lancet fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum forces its ant host to attach to the tips of grass blades, the easier to be eaten. The fluke needs to get into the gut of a grazing animal to complete its life cycle. The fluke Euhaplorchis californiensis causes fish to shimmy and jump so wading birds will grab them and eat them, for the same reason. Hairworms, which live inside grasshoppers, sabotage the grasshopper's central nervous system, forcing them to jump into pools of water, drowning themselves. Hairworms then swim away from their hapless hosts to continue their life cycle. Not all science-fictional parasites are harmful; read about the Crosswell tapeworm from Brian Aldiss' 1969 story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long (the basis for the Kubrick/Spielberg film AI), which keeps people who overeat from becoming obese. Not to mention robots based on parasites. Read press release on evidence for link between Toxoplasma and schizophrenia, Suicidal grasshoppers. Story via blogger Carl Zimmer and his readers. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #9 Hairworms I've conquered, they were easy. These nasty flukes will take a bit longer. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-02-13 21:39 |
| #8 Actually Fred, there is something to that contention. In the same way organisms and species are in a Darwinian struggle for finite resources, religions are in a struggle for bodies (their finite resource). Note that the term 'meme' was originated by Richard Dawkins, the prominent Darwinian scientist. We can loosely define a disease as an organism that is harmful to other organisms (although where a disease stops and a predator starts is open to discussion). A disease meme is similarly one that is harmful to organisms, especially those organisms that don't hold the meme or hold other memes. This leaves us with the question - How do memes that are harmful propagate since they are deleterious to other organisms and in a population being close to them results in your survival chances being reduced. I can think of two answers. 1. The meme is disproportionately deleterious to non-holders of the meme. So, while it conveys an evolutionary disadvantage to all organisms that come in contact with it, it imposes a relative disadvantage to those who don't hold the meme (and a relative advantage to those who do). This frees up finite resources that holders of the meme can then use. 2. The meme is parasitical. The meme incorporates elements that result in holders of the meme to aggressively take resources from holders of other memes that convey relative (i.e. genuine) benefit to their holders. Obviously, this works best (and will occur most) with memes that tolerate, and perhaps even encourage, this kind of parasitical behaviour. I leave it to the reader to decide which religions fit this definition. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-02-13 20:45 |
| #7 Great book. Heilein rocks. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2006-02-13 20:30 |
| #6 |
| Posted by: DMFD 2006-02-13 20:09 |
| #5 a "disease" removes all responsibility of the afflicted. I think not. Assholes, thugs, brutes, misogynists of all stripes converge to a place that makes it OK to kill your raped daughter, throw acid in a women's face because she rejected your advances, forces women to cover becuz the guys ain't got any self-control..... a disease? Fine - the cure is quarantine and eradication? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-13 19:36 |
| #4 I keep waiting for the fever to break... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-02-13 19:03 |
| #3 Think about it: Islamism as a disease? |
| Posted by: Fred 2006-02-13 18:48 |
| #2 I thought this was going to be an article about the imams controling the boys down at the local mosque. Nevermind. |
| Posted by: Mark Z 2006-02-13 16:13 |
| #1 They make you drink too. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-02-13 16:07 |