Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, brainwashes rats and mice; the parasite interferes with its host’s amygdala and reverses the conditioned response that causes rodents to shun the smell of cat urine, thereby making it more likely that the protozoan will be able to infect a cat and complete its life cycle.
Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, brainwashes rats and mice; the parasite interferes with its host’s amygdala and reverses the conditioned response that causes rodents to shun the smell of cat urine, thereby making it more likely that the protozoan will be able to infect a cat and complete its life cycle.