Behavioural abnormalities in<i>Toxoplasma</i>-infected mice

Hutchison, W. M.; Bradley, Morris; Cheyne, William M.; Wells, Brian; Hay, J.

doi:10.1080/00034983.1980.11687350

Cited by 79 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The decrease of weight of infected women can be either a direct effect of the deterioration of health of infected subjects or an indirect effect of, for example, higher activity (and therefore caloric output) amongst infected than uninfected women. The later explanation would be compatible with results of earlier animal studies that indicated a higher activity of infected rodents (Hutchison et al 1980b, Hay et al 1983, Webster 1994.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Influence of latent "asymptomatic" toxoplasmosis on body weight of pregnant women

Flegr

Hrdá²,

Kodym³

2005

FOLIA PARASIT

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Abstract. The latent toxoplasmosis is usually considered to be asymptomatic, however, this paradigm has never been rigorously tested. Here we searched for symptoms of deterioration of physical health (decrease of weight) in infected people by analysis of clinical records of 758 women tested for toxoplasmosis in the 16th week of gravidity. Toxoplasma-positive women have a lower body weight in the 16th week of gravidity (p = 0.02) than Toxoplasma-negative women. Moreover, a negative correlation between weight and the duration of toxoplasmosis was found in a subset of 174 Toxoplasma-positive women (p = 0.04), suggesting that slow and cumulative effects of latent toxoplasmosis, rather than a transient effect of acute toxoplasmosis, are responsible for the decreased weight of infected subjects. Longer duration of gravidity estimated from the date of last menstruation in the set of Toxoplasma-positive women in the 16th week of gravidity estimated with ultrasonography (p = 0.04) suggests a possibility of retarded foetal growth in Toxoplasma-positive women. The prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis is extremely high. Therefore, even its mild symptoms such as the decreased body weight in Toxoplasma-positive pregnant women might in fact indicate an unrecognized serious public health problem.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Influence of latent "asymptomatic" toxoplasmosis on body weight of pregnant women

Flegr

Hrdá²,

Kodym³

2005

FOLIA PARASIT

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“…The behaviour of individual mice was measured by observing their activity in the homecage. Six different categories of murine behaviour were measured, based on previous research (Hutchison et al 1980). (1) Ambulationwalking, running, jumping, rolling, circling, stretching.…”

Section: Larval Countsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A murine model for cerebral toxocariasis: characterization of host susceptibility and behaviour

et al. 2006

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Toxocara canis, the parasitic roundworm of dogs, can infect a number of paratenic hosts, such as mice and humans, due to the widespread dissemination of its ova in the environment. In these paratenic hosts, larvae have been shown to exhibit a predilection for the central nervous system, resulting in an increasing number of parasites migrating to the brain as infection progresses. In an initial experiment, we investigated the differential brain involvement of T. canis in 7 strains of inbred mice, and chose 2 strains, susceptible (BALB/c) and resistant (NIH) to cerebral infection. In a second experiment, both strains were investigated in terms of course of migration, larval accumulation, and behavioural response to T. canis infection. Results revealed that infected BALB/c mice took significantly longer to drink from a water source (following a period of deprivation), compared with control mice, indicating some degree of memory impairment. Cerebral larval recoveries from both strains of mice demonstrated variation between the two experiments, suggesting that larval burdens may not be a reliable indicator of susceptibility or resistance to T. canis infection. The percentage of total recovered larvae in each organ may be a better representation of larval distribution. Our model system may provide insights into the impact of chronic geohelminth infection on cognitive development.

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“…The behaviours included within these six broad categories of behaviour are as follows (see Hutchinson et al, 1980). Ambulation: walk, run, jump, roll, circle, stretch.…”

Section: Behavioural Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of mouse strain, infective dose and larval burden in the brain on activity in Toxocara-infected mice

Cox

Holland

2001

J. Helminthol.

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Outbred LACA mice and inbred NIH mice were administered low (100 ova), medium (1000 ova), high (3000 ova) and trickle 4 Â 250 ova doses of Toxocara canis ova and the effect of infection on activity was examined with respect to: (i) the dose of ova administered and (ii) the number of larvae recovered from the brain. Larval recovery from the brain was significantly reduced in NIH mice compared to LACA mice for the 1000, 3000 and trickle doses. Mice from each strain were divided into larval intensity groupings based upon the number of larvae recovered from their brain. Activity for each mouse was measured preand post-infection by observing its behaviour in the home cage. Activity was assessed by monitoring six different independent categories of murine behaviour ± ambulation, grooming, rearing, digging, climbing and immobility. Within each behavioural category, the duration of time spent at each behaviour per mouse within one thousandth of a second, the number of short bouts performed and the number of long bouts of behaviour performed were recorded over a 20 min period. Activity of LACA and NIH mice differed prior to infection. LACA mice spent more time immobile compared to NIH mice, which ambulated and climbed more. Variations in activity were also observed between groups of mice prior to infection. The effect of infection differed by strain, by dose and by larval intensity. Post-infection LACA mice became more immobile and ambulated less. NIH mice showed reduced immobility, but while ambulation decreased digging and climbing increased post-infection. Short bouts of activity remained unchanged among LACA mice post-infection but showed an increase for some behaviours in NIH mice.

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Behavioural abnormalities inToxoplasma-infected mice

Cited by 79 publications

References 12 publications

Influence of latent "asymptomatic" toxoplasmosis on body weight of pregnant women

Influence of latent "asymptomatic" toxoplasmosis on body weight of pregnant women

A murine model for cerebral toxocariasis: characterization of host susceptibility and behaviour

Influence of mouse strain, infective dose and larval burden in the brain on activity in Toxocara-infected mice

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