Ask the Experts: Research Proves Parasite Affects Brain Chemistry
Researchers at Leeds University have released the findings from their latest research, which demonstrated that Toxoplasma gondii, the brain parasite found in 10 to 20 % of the UK and 22% of the US population, alters the production of dopamine.
“T. gondii is a common, global protozoan parasite, which requires both a definitive host and an intermediate host to complete its life cycle. Although felines are the only definitive host of T. gondii, any warm-blooded animal, including humans, can be infected,” the researchers state in their article.
The results of the study, funded by the Stanley Medical Research Institute and Dunhill Medical Trust, are the first to prove that a parasite in the brain can increase the levels of dopamine produced.
“Based on these analyses, it was clear that T. gondii can orchestrate a significant increase in dopamine production in neural cells,” says Dr McConkey the lead investigator of the research.
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