ArticlePloS one2011
The neurotropic parasite Toxoplasma gondii increases dopamine metabolism.
Article in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 204 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
204 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 454 citations in OpenAlex.
- Toxoplasma gondii infection and testosterone alteration: A systematic review and meta-analyses.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Relationship between Toxoplasma gondii infection and psychiatric disorders in Iran: A systematic review with meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Association of T. gondii infection with suicide: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2020Pooled it
- Genome-wide association study in two populations to determine genetic variants associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection and relationship to schizophrenia risk.Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- Relationship between toxoplasmosis and obsessive compulsive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2019Pooled it
- The Association between Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Risk of Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.BioMed research international · 2019Pooled it
- Cytokines in First-Episode Psychosis: Implications for Pathophysiology: A Narrative Literature Review.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Special Issue: Does latent Toxoplasma infection mimic the immune profile of schizophrenia? Sex-specific cytokine and brain-marker alterations suggest partial overlap.Folia parasitologica · 2026Article
- Seroprevalence and molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a case-control study in northern Iran.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- From parasite-induced immune activation to neuroinflammation and behavioral dysfunction: convergent mechanisms across protozoa and helminths: a review.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Review
- Article
- From cats to cortex:Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Article
- The role of parasite-produced dopamine in Toxoplasma gondii-altered host behaviour.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Unveiling the rumen-microbiome-brain circuit: a unique dimension of gut-brain axis in ruminants.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2025Review
- Toxoplasma gondii and suicidal behaviour: discovery, cross-diagnostic confirmation and pathway exploration.Folia parasitologica · 2025Article
- Fallow deer approaching humans are more likely to be seropositive forRoyal Society open science · 2025Article
- Contribution of the dopaminergic system in toxoplasmic encephalitis neuroimmunopathogenesis.Histology and histopathology · 2025Article
- Review
- Beyond Latency: ChronicBiomedicines · 2025Review
144 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The highly prevalent parasite Toxoplasma gondii manipulates its host's behavior. In infected rodents, the behavioral changes increase the likelihood that the parasite will be transmitted back to its definitive cat host, an essential step in completion of the parasite's life cycle. The mechanism(s) responsible for behavioral changes in the host is unknown but two lines of published evidence suggest that the parasite alters neurotransmitter signal transduction: the disruption of the parasite-induced behavioral changes with medications used to treat psychiatric disease (specifically dopamine antagonists) and identification of a tyrosine hydroxylase encoded in the parasite genome. In this study, infection of mammalian dopaminergic cells with T. gondii enhanced the levels of K+-induced release of dopamine several-fold, with a direct correlation between the number of infected cells and the quantity of dopamine released. Immunostaining brain sections of infected mice with dopamine antibody showed intense staining of encysted parasites. Based on these analyses, T. gondii orchestrates a significant increase in dopamine metabolism in neural cells. Tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme for dopamine synthesis, was also found in intracellular tissue cysts in brain tissue with antibodies specific for the parasite-encoded tyrosine hydroxylase. These observations provide a mechanism for parasite-induced behavioral changes. The observed effects on dopamine metabolism could also be relevant in interpreting reports of psychobehavioral changes in toxoplasmosis-infected humans.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.