Robert Harris, Staff Writer Taxoplasma Gondii (TG) is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases on earth. It’s been shown to induce behavioural changes in its host by altering neural activity and has been linked to psychiatric disorders such as ADHD, OCD and schizophrenia. Although cats are its primary victims, with a 20-60% infection rate, almost all warm-blooded animals are prone to infection as intermediate hosts. Why does all this matter? Well, because there’s a 1 in 3 chance that you are a carrier. TG spreads through the ingestion of a spore found in infected cat faeces and raw meat and, once it has bored its way into the brain, it can manipulate behavioural tendencies in intermediate hosts in order to help it reach a definitive one. Effected mice, for example, become less fearful of cats. Healthy adults will typically feel nothing worse than brief flu-like symptoms before antibodies start to fight off the parasite, which then remains dormant in the subject’s brain cells. Research has suggested that possible effects of this latent infection include slower reaction
times and an increased risk of traffic accidents. However, other studies have indicated that these accidents may in fact be a consequence of TG somehow increasing the host’s desire to take risks in general. But it doesn’t stop there. A study on 191 women also found higher guilt-proneness and higher intelligence in those that tested positive for TG. Though the exact cause of these changes is still unknown, studies have found that the parasite sparks a knock-on effect resulting in increased levels of dopamine, an important chemical in the brain which controls emotional responses and the ability to feel pleasure and pain. It’s been proven that dopamine deficiency is the cause of sexual dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation. So, if you suffer from the ghastly “prems”, a toxoplasma infection may be your cure. Suddenly that 1 in 3 chance doesn’t look like such bad odds. Illustration: Conner Heron
BEER GOGGLES Why?
Emma Brisdion Described as ‘an alcohol induced condition of the eyes in which members of the opposite sex appear more attractive’, “Beer Goggles” is a phenomenon all too frequently experienced at university. We all know that after a certain number of units, standards are relaxed and people who wouldn’t usually command a second glance are suddenly capturing your drunken attention. But why? Recent studies have shown that facial symmetry plays a highly influential role in determining the attractiveness of an individual: a well-proportioned face and body being an evolutionary cue of good
genes and reproductive fitness. Instinctively, we are programmed to be drawn to these good genes for the benefit of potential offspring. So, symmetry is an inherent turn-on. Drinking alcohol however, as I’m guessing you might already know, impairs our judgment by slowing down the brain’s general processes. This reduces our ability to recognize this symmetry, which we would usually pick up subconsciously. In a study by Roehampton University, it was found that drink for drink, women lose this capability faster than men. Students were shown
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