Study says parasite in cat poop makes people more sociable and reckless
No, it doesn’t.
Toxoplasma gondii, a common and very clever parasite you can get from handling kitty litter or eating steak tartare. Image: KLAUS BOLLER Photo Researchers, Inc.
Feeling sociable or reckless? You might have toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by the microscopic parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which the CDC estimates has infected about 22.5 percent of Americans older than 12 years old. Researchers tested participants for T. gondii infection and had them complete a personality questionnaire. They found that both men and women infected with T. gondii were more extroverted and less conscientious than the infection-free participants. These changes are thought to result from the parasite’s influence on brain chemicals, the scientists write in the May/June issue of the European Journal of Personality.
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September 28th, 2012 at 20:39
Speaking of reckless, I love how cats climb walls and roofs of great height without any thought of how to go down. They have their fun first, cry out later, and still manage to go down by themselves – when no one’s looking.
Then they do it again.
And again.
Till they’re reincarnated into versions of Bas.