Toxoplasmosis: Can Your Cat Make You Go Crazy?

Toxoplasma gondii, is a unicellular parasite that changes the behavior of its host! A 2002 study showed that people who had toxoplasmosis got into more car accidents than uninfected people. Later research, in rats (another host) and humans have shown that the parasite can alter the nervous system. The host, as a result, appears to be less afraid and take more risks. Many researchers are looking into how a toxo infection might be a factor for psychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia.