Neurological and behavioral symptoms of latent toxoplasmosis

1
Neurological and behavioral symptoms of latent
toxoplasmosis
Jaroslav Flegr, Jitka Hanuová Annapolis 2005
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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
3
Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
4
Manipulation theory
Leucochloridium paradoxum
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Life cycle of Toxoplasma
oocyst
tachyzoit
bradyzoit
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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
7
Questionnaire studies
Cattel 16 PF questionnaire
Sizothymia Low Intelligence
Ego Weakness Submissiveness
Desurgency Low Superego
Strength Threctia
Harria
Alaxia
Praxernia Naiveté
Untroubled
Adequacy Conservatism
Group Dependency Low
Self-sentiment Low Ergic Tension

8
Questionnaire studies
Cattel 16 PF questionnaire
Sizothymia Low Intelligence
Ego Weakness Submissiveness
Desurgency Low Superego
Strength Threctia
Harria
Alaxia
Praxernia Naiveté
Untroubled
Adequacy Conservatism
Group Dependency Low
Self-sentiment Low Ergic Tension

Affectothymia
High Intelligence
High Ego Strength
Dominance
Surgency
Superego Strength
Parmia
Premsia
Protension
Autia
Shrewdness
Guilt Proneness
Radicalism
Self-sufficiency
High Self Sentiment
High Ergic Tension
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Questionnaire studies
Cattel 16 PF questionnaire

• Students and teachers (men) of biology
  departments of Charles Univ., N243
• Students and teachers (women) of biology
  departments of Charles Univ.,N200
• Women tested for toxoplasmosis during pregnancy,
  N191
• Blood donors (men), N55
• Conscripts, N475
• Students (men) of biology departments of Charles
  University, N107
• Students (women) of biology departments of
  Charles University, N255
• Acute toxoplasmosis patients (men) N190
• Acute toxoplasmosis patients (women) N230
• Blood donors (men), N268
• Blood donors (women), N190

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Questionnaire studies
Cloninger TCI questionnaire

• Novelty seeking
• Harm avoidance
• Reward dependence
• Persistence
• Self-directedness
• Cooperativeness
• Self-transcendence
• Lie score (Eysencks test)

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Questionnaire studies
Cloninger TCI questionnaire

• Novelty seeking
• Harm avoidance
• Reward dependence
• Persistence
• Self-directedness
• Cooperativeness
• Self-transcendence
• Lie score (Eysencks test)

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Questionnaire studies
Cloninger TCI questionnaire

• Blood donors N765
• Conscripts, N857
• Students (men) of biology departments of Charles
  University, N345

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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
14
Intelligence
lt Cattell 16PF, factor B, men women lt Otis
questionnaire (32 questions, verbal intelligence
test) lt The highest achieved education
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Effect of size of living place
lt Otis questionnaire
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Intelligence
lt Cattel 16PF, factor B, men women lt Otis
questionnaire (32 questions, verbal inteligence
test) lt The highest acheived education
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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
18
Lower psychomotor performance
Number of correctly localized targets
1. subtest p lt 0.001
3. subtest p lt 0.02
5. subtest p lt 0.02
2. subtest p lt 0.05
4. subtest p lt 0.03
N1314 (961 neg., 353 poz.)
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Increased risk of traffic accidents
controls
victims
O.R.
C.I.
P
446 (84)
146 (58)
2.65
1.76-4.01
lt0.001
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Behavioral experiments

• Students (men) of biology departments of Charles
  University, N107
• Students (women) of biology departments of
  Charles University, N255

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Behavioral equivalents of 16PF personality factors
Affectothymia
Self-Control
Cloth Tidiness
protension significant gender-toxo interaction
for subjects living in countryside
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Experimental games
Dictator game
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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
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Difference in phenotype
lt 2 4 digits ratio lt Height lt Dominance and
masculinity (assessed by women observers on the
basis of photos)
?
?
0.99 P 0.98 L
0.97 P 0.98 L
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Difference in phenotype
1.03
130
66
1.02
1.01
27
1.00
20
0.99
0.98
4D ratio, left hand
0.97

0.96
2D
0.95
0.94
P 0.
15
P 0.0
41
0.93
Mean
To
x
o-free
infected
To
x
o-free
infected
MeanSE
MeanSD
women
men
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Height
195
73
20
190
P 0.49
185
180
146
146
146
29
175
height (cm)
170
165
P 0.02
6
160
Mean
155
MeanSE
Toxo-free
infected
Toxo-free
infected
MeanSD
women
men
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Visually assessed dominance
Four independent groups of female observers
Luteal phase
Folicular phase
dominance
Hormonal contraception no
dominance
Hormonal contraception yes
Toxo-infected
Toxo-free
Toxo-infected
Toxo-free
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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
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Differences?
height, dominance
behavior
testosterone in embryogenezis
testosterone in adult age
testosterone in embryogenezis
testosterone in adult age
personality traits
2D 4D ratio
sensitivity to infections
2D 4D ratio
sensitivity to infections
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Changes?
psychomotor performance
behavior
infection
toxoplasmosis
personality traits
behavior
testosterone
personality traits
height, dominance
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Increase of personality shift with time (G)
Women diagnosed with acute toxoplasmosis during
past 14 years (N230)

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Increase of personality shift with decrease of
antibody titre (G)
55 pregnant women with latent toxoplasmosis

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Change of toxoplasmosis induced shift with time

• Male acute toxoplasmosis patients N190, G, L
• Female acute toxoplasmosis patients N230, G,
  Q3, A
• Women tested for toxoplasmosis during pregnancy,
  N55, A, F, G, H, L
• Blood donors, N60, reaction time
• Victims of traffic accidents N145/446, relative
  risk
• Blood donors, N94, NS
• Conscripts, N229, NS

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Both differences and changes!

• Just a difference morphology,
  dominance/masculinity
• Change increase with time 16PF traits
• Change decrease with time or rapid onestep
  change NS, relative risk of traffic accident

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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
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Manipulation or byproduct?
ltPredation tests (Sarcocystis, Frenkelia)
ltPseudopredation test (traffic accident
victims) ltIncrease in activity (Leptospira,
Cryptosporidium, Coxiella, Hymenolepis,
Syphacia) (Webster 1994) ltNatural life cycle of
Toxoplasma cat??? ltPersonality changes in human
Novelty seeking Toxoplasma and cytomegalovirus

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Novelty seeking and toxoplasmosis
Toxo x size of place of residence p 0.001
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Novelty seeking and CMV
CMV p 0.006
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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
42
Opposite personality factor shifts
Sizothymia Low Intelligence
Ego Weakness Submissiveness
Desurgency Low Superego
Strength Threctia
Harria
Alaxia
Praxernia Naiveté
Untroubled
Adequacy Conservatism
Group Dependency Low
Self-sentiment Low Ergic Tension

Affectothymia
High Intelligence
High Ego Strength
Dominance
Surgency
Superego Strength
Parmia
Premsia
Protension
Autia
Shrewdness
Guilt Proneness
Radicalism
Self-sufficiency
High Self Sentiment
High Ergic Tension
High Novelty Seeking
Low Novelty Seeking
NS
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Experimental games
Dictator game
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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
45
Mechanism 1
height, dominance
behavior
testosterone in embryogenezis
testosterone in adult age
testosterone in embryogenezis
testosterone in adult age
personality traits
2D 4D ratio
sensitivity to infections
2D 4D ratio
sensitivity to infections
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Mechanism 2
schizophrenia
personality traits
inflammation
dopamine
infection
interleukin (2 ?)
behavior
psychomotor performance
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Outline
ltIntroduction Manipulation theory ltDifference
in personality profile ltDifference in
intelligence ltDifference in behavior
ltDifference in phenotype ltDifferences or
changes? ltManipulation or byproduct? ltGender
differences? ltMechanism? ltSummary and
perspectives
48
Summary
ltLatent toxoplasmosis influences personality
traits ltLatent toxoplasmosis influences human
behavior ltSome differences between phenotype
toxoplasma-infected and toxoplasma-free
subjects predate the infection ltSome behavioral
changes are just byproducts ltThe most suspected
molecule dopamine
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Perspectives
ltIt is critical to elucidate the role of dopamine
ltIt is important to elucidate the role of
testosterone lt It is important to elucidate the
gender differences in behavioral responses lt It
is important to search for real impact of
neurological and behavioral changes in
toxoplasma-infected subjects ltIt is critically
important to search for therapy for latent
toxoplasmosis
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Acknowledgements
Jan Havlícek Martina Novotná Jitka Hanuová
árka Kanková Jirí Klose Marek
Preiss Petr Kodym Romana Vavrinová
Hana Hodková Anna Skallová Petra Kolbeková
Mirka Berenreiterová tepánka Hrdá
Stanley Medical Research Institute Grant Agency
of Czech Republic Czech Ministry of
Education Grant Agency of Charles University