Toxoplasma infection permanently shifts balance in cat and mouse game

Infection with the toxoplasma parasite makes mice fearless in the presence of cats — to their regret. But how does the protozoan do that? UC Berkeley scientists looked at the effects of three common strains of toxoplasma and found that they remove the fear of cat urine for as long as four months, long after the mice have cleared the parasite from their brains. The parasite appears to make permanent changes in the brain’s neurons.

Fuente : http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-09/uoc…