Toxoplasma gondii infection reduces predator aversion in rats through epigenetic modulation in the host medial amygdala

@article{HariDass2014ToxoplasmaGI,
  title={Toxoplasma gondii infection reduces predator aversion in rats through epigenetic modulation in the host medial amygdala},
  author={Shantala Arundathi Hari Dass and Ajai Vyas},
  journal={Molecular Ecology},
  year={2014},
  volume={23},
  url={https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:45290208}
}
It is shown that loss of fear in the infected animals can be rescued by the systemic hypermethylation and recapitulated by directed hypomethylation in the medial amygdala of male rats, demonstrating an epigenetic proximate mechanism underlying the extended phenotype in the Rattus novergicus–Toxoplasma gondii association.

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Extended epigenotype in a Rattus novergicus – Toxoplasma gondii association

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Masterpiece of epigenetic engineering – how Toxoplasma gondii reprogrammes host brains to change fear to sexual attraction

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Downregulation of the Central Noradrenergic System by Toxoplasma gondii Infection

The noradrenergic system was found to be suppressed with decreased levels of norepinephrine in brains of infected animals and in infected human and rat neural cells in vitro, which may, in part, explain behavioral effects of infection and associations with mental illness.
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Fatal attraction in rats infected with Toxoplasma gondii

Although rats have evolved anti–predator avoidance of areas with signs of cat presence, T. gondii's manipulation appears to alter the rat's perception of cat predation risk, in some cases turning their innate aversion into an imprudent attraction.

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