Leashed to Your Cat? Stanford’s Patrick House Talks Brain Parasites in Slate

If you’re a normal person with normal interests, like those of us at the CLB, you’ve probably been wondering for some time now what Chanel No. 5, the World Cup, and cat urine have in common.  And now you’re in luck.  Stanford neuroscientist Patrick House has connected the dots in a pair of articles appearing in Slate this week (which you can find here and here).  Mr. House is a friend of the CLB and the Stanford Interdisciplinary Group on Neuroscience and Law (SIGNAL), having twice spoken at law school events to discuss his research into the mysterious workings of Toxoplasma gondii — a brain parasite thought to infect as many as 2 billion humans.  Congratulations, Patrick, and good work.

1 Response to “Leashed to Your Cat? Stanford’s Patrick House Talks Brain Parasites in Slate”

  1. I’ve noticed something strange in a cat of mine when she was little she had an extreme eye infection so I put some doxycycline in her food to cure the infection. now this cat is the sweetest cat you want to know rub up against you persistently level headed will not bite you and if she does does not use her teeth or claws when she touches someone ever.she’s also very very bright and understand the words that are normal cat would not. She also will not fight for food she will wait until other cats are finished or manipulate the cats to get away from the food by using toys to distract the other cats so she can have the food herself. what I’m curious about is if this early dosing of the antibiotic in this kitten destroyed any toxoplasmosis in her system allowing her brain to develop without aggression any dumbing-down of the cat allowing her brain to develop more than most other cats brains would. in summary perhaps this toxoplasmosis actually acts on the cats early in their life to make them more aggressive therefore better Hunters. just a thought if dr. house is getting these articles or anyone knows how to get hold of him I would have enjoyed his thoughts on this matter or anyone else’s. I’m curious if there has been researching this area. My email is jasonleemaillet@gmail.com

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