ArticleCell reports2020
Neuroinflammation-Associated Aspecific Manipulation of Mouse Predator Fear by Toxoplasma gondii.
Article in Cell reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers.
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Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed.
- Chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection and its influence on semen analysis in rats: controlled experimental animal study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Midbrain PAG Astrocytes Modulate Mouse Defensive and Panic-Like Behaviors.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Parasite egg shedding rhythms are independent of feeding habits in a small shorebird host.Parasitology · 2026Article
- Position-independent emergence of neocortical neuron molecular identity, connectivity and function.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
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- The role of autophagy in protozoan infections.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
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- Comprehensive analysis of Toxoplasma gondii migration routes and tissue dissemination in the host.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Review
- Wolbachia-mediated reduction in the glutamate receptor mGluR promotes female promiscuity and bacterial spread.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Effects of latent infection of Toxoplasma gondii strains with different genotypes on mouse behavior and brain transcripts.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Association of neurobiological and immune serum biomarkers with Toxoplasma gondii infection in patients with schizophrenia.Parasitology research · 2025Article
- Ectoparasites enhance survival by suppressing host exploration and limiting dispersal.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Synanthropic Rodents as Bioindicator of Human Pathogens in a Tourist Area of Brazil.EcoHealth · 2025Article
- A deep learning pipeline for three-dimensional brain-wide mapping of local neuronal ensembles in teravoxel light-sheet microscopy.Nature methods · 2025Article
- Robotic animals as new tools in rodent neuroscience research: proposed applications of zooinspired robots for mouse behavioral testing.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2025Article
- The degree of toxoplasmosis and testicular histomorphometry in rats.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Diseases Caused by and Behaviors Associated withPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Viral- and fungal-mediated behavioral manipulation of hosts: summit disease.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2024Review
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In rodents, the decrease of felid aversion induced by Toxoplasma gondii, a phenomenon termed fatal attraction, is interpreted as an adaptive manipulation by the neurotropic protozoan parasite. With the aim of understanding how the parasite induces such specific behavioral modifications, we performed a multiparametric analysis of T. gondii-induced changes on host behavior, physiology, and brain transcriptome as well as parasite cyst load and distribution. Using a set of complementary behavioral tests, we provide strong evidence that T. gondii lowers general anxiety in infected mice, increases explorative behaviors, and surprisingly alters predator aversion without selectivity toward felids. Furthermore, we show a positive correlation between the severity of the behavioral alterations and the cyst load, which indirectly reflects the level of inflammation during brain colonization. Taken together, these findings refute the myth of a selective loss of cat fear in T. gondii-infected mice and point toward widespread immune-related alterations of behaviors.
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