Are toxoplasma parasites taking over our brains?
.Normally, certain areas of a male rat's brain light up in the presence of female rats in heat. But when they're infected with the parasite, they also respond just as strongly to the odor of cat urine.
The infected male rats "remarkably, begin selectively preferring areas with cat urine," a paper in the most recent edition of the journal Public Library of Science One , says. The rats stay afraid of odors from non-feline predators, but they actively seek out that of cats.
Not a good thing for the rat.
However, it's a horrific but brilliant bit of evolution for the parasite, allowing it to get to the one place in the world where it can reproduce - the guts of a cat.
Researchers at Stanford investigated how exactly it manages to do this. They found that once in a rat's body, the toxoplasma protozoa infects the rat's brain, where it shows a preference for the amygdala , the area of the brain associated with emotional states.
Somehow, and the researchers don't yet know how, the parasite manages to reprogram the regions of the amygdala that focus on innate fear and innate attraction so that the rats were drawn to the smell of cat urine, something they would normally be fearful of.
Cats excrete toxoplasma, a single-celled protozoa, in their feces. It then goes on to infect other mammals, including rats. But it has to get back into a cat's gut to be able to reproduce. And having rats run up to cats is a good way for it to get there.
In humans, toxoplasma causes toxoplasmosis, known to infect about one-third of humans worldwide. It can be very dangerous to pregnant women and their fetuses and those with weakened immune system, but in general is not considered dangerous to humans.
However the paper's first author, Patrick House , a neuroscientist at Stanford University's School of Medicine, wonders if it might be having effects on us we're not aware of.
"There are a couple dozen studies in the last few years showing that if you have schizophrenia, you are more likely to have toxoplasma. The studies haven't shown cause and effect, but it's possible," he said in a release. "Humans have amygdalae too. We are afraid of and attracted to things – it's similar circuitry.
Cat Urine Odor - News
The smell of cat urine revs up this set of neurons like the presence of a sexually receptive female rat normally would. The neurons that trigger the rat's normal “freezing” reaction to cats continue to fire. But their message may get swamped by the
But when they're infected with the parasite, they also respond just as strongly to the odor of cat urine. The infected male rats "remarkably, begin selectively preferring areas with cat urine," a paper in the most recent edition of the journal Public
Everywhere I went, I found myself detecting, or at least thinking I was, the nasty smell of cat urine. Not a pleasant odor in anyone's home, and certainly not in mine where I pride myself with being able to maintain a litterbox-odor-free environment.
Any whiff of cat urine or dog bed, and your prospective buyer, unless he or she runs an animal rescue mission, is likely to make a quick exit. The same goes for that musty old basement smell. However, you don't want to go to town with chemicals to the
—Laura Sanders The mind-controlling protozoa Toxoplasma gondii turns rats into cat lovers. Toxo tricks the rat brain into equating the smell of cat pee — an odor that's normally terrifying to the rodents — with the smell of a female rat in heat,
Cat Urine Smell - Some Removal Tips - Articles 20VN
Cat urine smell is one of the hardest odors to remove. There are only few things you can apply to it in a way of do-it-yourself cleaning and there are many detergents for urine smell removal you can purchase, but not all of them produce the desire result. So, let us take a look at some of the tips on cat urine removal.
First of all, the level of complexity of cat urine removal depends on the materials spoiled by this odor. Some of the things, like clothes or curtains, can be washed using strong detergents and thus rid off the odor; while others can be treated only with less strong means or only partially. One of the hardest odors to remove is the urine smell from surfaces of wooden and soft furniture. Wood soaks the smell in and there is hardly anything that can remove it from there.
Now, trying to remove the odor you need not only clean it off, so you yourself would not smell, but to remove it so that your cat won't smell it either. Otherwise, if even the slightest odor remains on your things, the cat will continue visiting lulu on the same spot.
If you deal with the urine on the floor or on wooden surface, you may wash or rub it with iodine solution. That is, of course, if your floor or wood furniture is not of white or light color.
You may also use manganese in the smell removal. It is a very effective cure, but it will leave a stain of its own, so it is only suitable for dark surfaces.
If a cats urine has leaked under the floor and in some cracks, the only thing except floor removal that will help to reduce the smell is covering those cracks with liquid paraffin or wax and leaving it there to harden. Such protection shell will not allow the bad smell to get out, at least when it is not too hot in your home.
You may also use vinegar and bleach for the odor removal. Simply wash the floors and clean the spoiled articles with the solution of any of those things. However, keep in mind that bleach can remove colors from your things together with cat urine and leave its own strong odor.
18 Ways To Stop Cat Urine Odor. 
18 Ways To Stop Cat Urine Odor. 
18 Ways To Stop Cat Urine Odor. 
18 Ways To Stop Cat Urine Odor. 
18 Ways To Stop Cat Urine Odor. Cat Urine Odor - Bookshelf
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