Brain parasite lures rats towards cats

A team of researchers has learned that a brain parasite in rats causes them to become sexually attracted to cat smells. The team was led in part by Robert Sapolsky, a former Associate in CIFAR’s Experience-based Brain and Biological Development program. These findings come as a surprise because the researchers previously believed that the parasite, Taxoplasma gondii , simply caused rats to lose their fear of cats. By luring rats towards cats, the parasite fulfils its lifecycle – the parasite can only reproduce in the cat’s digestive system. The findings from this study also suggest connections between the processing of fear and sexual attraction in the brain. Read more