The Effect of Toxoplasma gondii on Animal Behavior: Playing Cat and Mouse

Webster, Joanne P.

doi:10.1093/schbul/sbl073

Cited by 203 publications

(175 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Thus, reproductive fitness of Toxoplasma is dependent upon predation of small warm-blooded animals by cats; and loss of the innate aversion is likely to increase predation and result in increased reproductive fitness for the parasite. This position agrees with the 'behavioral manipulation' hypothesis, which states that a parasite can change host behavior specifically to increase its own reproductive fitness (Vyas et al, 2007, Webster, 2007.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Recent reports indicate that latent Toxoplasma infection results in entry of parasites into the brains of rodents and in loss of innate aversion in such animals towards cat kairomones (Berdoy et al, 2000, Vyas et al, 2007. This behavioral change is highly specific, sparing a wide range of behaviors related to olfaction, learning, conditioned fear, social status and mating success (Berdoy et al, 1995, Vyas et al, 2007, Webster, 2007. These observations are interesting because Toxoplasma can sexually reproduce only in the intestine of cats (Dubey, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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The effects of toxoplasma infection on rodent behavior are dependent on dose of the stimulus

2007

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Parasite Toxoplasma gondii blocks the innate aversion of rats for cat urine, putatively increasing the likelihood of a cat predating a rat. This is thought to reflect an adaptive behavioral manipulation, because Toxoplasma can reproduce only in cat intestines. While it will be adaptive for the parasite to cause an absolute behavioral change, fitness costs associated with the manipulation itself suggest that the change be optimized and not maximized. We investigate these conflicting suggestions in the present report. Furthermore, exposure to cat odor causes long-lasting acquisition of learnt fear in the rodents. If Toxoplasma manipulates emotional valence of cat odor rather than just sensory response, infection should affect learning driven by the aversive properties of the odor. As a second aim of the present study, we investigate this assertion. We demonstrate that behavioral changes in rodents induced by Toxoplasma infection do not represent absolute all-or-none effects. Rather, these effects follow a non-monotonous function dependent on strength of stimulus, roughly resembling an inverted-U curve. Furthermore, infection affects conditioning to cat odor in a manner dependent upon strength of unconditioned stimulus employed. Non-monotonous relationship between behavioral manipulation and strength of cat odor agrees with the suggestion that a dynamic balance exists between benefit obtained and costs incurred by the parasite during the manipulation. This report also demonstrates that Toxoplasma affects emotional valence of the cat odor as indicated by altered learned fear induced by cat odor.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The effects of toxoplasma infection on rodent behavior are dependent on dose of the stimulus

2007

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“…Toxoplasmosis can affect behavior and neurophysiology of infected hosts (Flegr 2000;Torrey and Yolken 2003). The findings in some studies revealed cognitive deficits in mice after infection with T. gondii (Hodkova et al 2007;Webster 2007). Kankov et al (2011) showed that Toxoplasma infection affect the level of serum testosterone in mice and human while the changes in testosterone level may influence the probability of infection to Toxoplasma in other animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxoplasma gondii: sexual transmission in mice

et al. 2013

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This study was performed to evaluate sexual transmission of Toxoplasma gondii in mice. RH strain tachyzoites were intraperitoneally inoculated into 10 Balb/C male mice and after 48 h, their semen were collected from epididymis and examined by giemsa staining and PCR. Twenty Balb/C female mice mated with four infected male mice four times and any mating time was 48 h whilst 20 female control mice mated with four uninfected male mice for 8 days. Female mate choice was assessed using a threechambered cage. Four female mice were placed in a central chamber and in one side of it, two infected male mice were kept and in other side, two naïve male mice were placed. Due each quarter, every of the female movement was reported and then the female was replaced to middle chamber. Besides on the detection of DNA and whole parasite in semen, no abortion and death was seen in female mice. Pregnancy was seen only 4 out of 20 female mice which mated with infected males while 17 pregnancies were seen from 20 control female mice (P value = 0.0001). No statistical significant was seen in female mate choice between naïve male (45 movement) and infected male (36 movement). This study showed that toxoplasmosis could not transmit to female mice and their offspring due to mating and the parasite had not effect on female mate choice. It seems that infected male mice cannot entirely mate with females due to reduction of male weapon and body size, physiological vigor and energy.

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“…It makes sense that a parasite requiring to be eaten by a definitive host would benefit by changing the behaviour of its host to increase the chances of being ingested. Early studies in mice showed that infection did appear to have effects that may increase predation (Webster 2007) and, in more recent studies in rats, it has been shown that this change may be more specifically related to reducing the rat's innate fear of cats (Webster 2007). This has been confirmed in studies in both mice and rats (Vyas et al 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%