The Ultimate Mind Control: Researchers Suspect Bacteria, Viruses and Parasites Influence Human Behavior, Culture

By Carolanne Wright

Contributing writer for Wake Up World

We may think we’re independent, capable individuals, calling the shots in our lives from a place of personal freedom, but a new breed of research offers a somewhat terrifying counter argument to this belief. Incredibly, microbes can have a profound effect on our personalities and behavior — and even cause us to be more accident prone.

While quite a bit of focus has been on the gut microbiome — and how it shapes our overall cognitive and mental health — recent discoveries have led scientists to believe this influence extends to viruses and parasites as well. Which brings us to the question: are these microscopic creatures controlling our behavior without us knowing about it?

“Now, I think this is part of what makes parasites so sinister and so compelling. We place such a premium on our free will and our independence that the prospect of losing those qualities to forces unseen informs many of our deepest societal fears. Orwellian dystopias and shadowy cabals and mind-controlling super villains — these are tropes that fill our darkest fiction, but in nature, they happen all the time.” ~ Ed Yong in “Suicidal Wasps, Zombie Roaches and Other Parasite Tales”

Roughly half the world’s population carry Toxoplasma gondii — a parasite that infects both wild and domestic cats, along with many warm-blooded mammals, including humans. Toxoplasma is also known for severely changing the behavior of rats, to the point where they seek out cat urine, which makes them an easy meal for felines. Here’s the brilliance of the parasite: it can infect pretty much any mammal, but is only able to reproduce in cats. In order for the parasite to survive, it’s developed an ingenious mechanism to alter the region of a rats brain that governs fear, anxiety and sexual arousal. “It has two genes that allow it to crank up production of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the host brain,” said Glenn McConkey of the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Dopamine regulates the fear, pleasure and attention centers in the brain. The neurotransmitter is associated with schizophrenics as well, who have higher than normal levels.

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