Brainwashing-parasites

NEURO- PARASITOLOGY is in its nascent stage of science. It primarily involves studying parasites that can control the nervous system of the host.

This scientific fiend will significantly offer the possibility of articulating how one species, that is the parasite, has the capacity to modify a particular neural network, and by extension, particular behaviors of another species which is its host.

The extreme and strange behavior of these parasites fascinates both scientist and nonscientists alike.

One reason that this topic resonates with so many is that it touches on core philosophical issues such as the existence of free will. If the mind is merely a machine, then it can be controlled by any entity that understands the code and has access to the machinery.

In some of the most enthralling behavioral manipulation, the parasite hijacks the host brain neuronal circuitries to maneuver the host’s cognitive operations. A perfect example would be the parasitic nematomorph hairworm Spinochordodes tellinii, whose larvae develop in grasshoppers and crickets. This parasite is able to brainwash its host’s behavior to commit suicide in water which will enable the exit of the parasite into an aquatic environment favorable for its reproduction.

In another fascinating example of behavioral manipulation, researchers in Kobe University, Japan has found out that the Lycaenid butterfly caterpillars of the Japanese oak blue variety produce secretions containing the neurotransmitter Dopamine from its dorsal nectary organ, causing ants to abandon their colony which makes them less likely to move away from the caterpillar and become more likely to be aggressive.

This parasitic relationship benefits the caterpillar more because it has managed to re-engineer the ant to become its personal

bodyguard. Without the safety offered by the ants, the caterpillar will be more likely to be predated upon or attacked by another parasitic insect that would lay eggs inside its body as a natural incubator for the other parasite.

But these horror stories are not entirely restricted to invertebrates – and humans are not immune. As soon as we have learned how to farm and select strains of crops that are cultivated best in a certain environment, we have also understood the need for surplus that could be stored for the future.

This, however, dragged along wild mice, rats, and other rodents and with the cats and a hidden danger: the protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii.

We are not the final stage in this parasite’s life cycle but we can be infected by it through coming into contact with cat feces (or eating uncooked meat). The parasite induces changes in the behavior of its rodent intermediate host appearing to enhance transmission to the feline definitive host (Webster, 2007). Meaning, rats, and mice tend to lose their inhibition against cats, cat’s urine and feces urging them to expose themselves to feline where they get easily eaten.

But even stranger things happen when humans inadvertently contract T. gondii. It was observed that men are more likely to sustain car accidents due to riskier and aggressive behavior patterns including jealousy. In contrast, women, are more likely to commit suicide. It has even been suggested that T. gondii could potentially be involved in dementia, bipolar disorder, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and autism. There is even evidence from more than 40 studies that people suffering from schizophrenia have elevated levels of IgG antibodies against T. gondii.

More research must be conducted and we will begin to unravel just how these microscopic overlords are manipulating our decisions. Just imagine the implications if we could finally crack the code to mind-control. ( Paid article)