Cat Parasite May Affect Cultural Traits in Human Populations

Little is known about the causes of cultural change, and biological explanations often stimulate social and
scientific debate, but a behavioral manipulation of a common brain parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, may be
among factors that play a role, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey published in the
August 2, 2006 issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biology.

“In populations where this parasite is very common, mass personality modification could result in cultural
change,” said study author Dr. Kevin Lafferty, a USGS scientist at the University of California at Santa
Barbara. “The geographic variation in the latent prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii may explain a substantial
proportion of human population differences we see in cultural aspects that relate to ego, money, material
possessions, work and rules.”

While this sounds like science fiction, it is a logical outcome of how natural selection leads to effective
strategies for parasites to get from host to host, said Lafferty. Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite of cats, both
domestic and wild. While modern humans are a dead-end host for the parasite, Toxoplasma appears to
manipulate personality by the same adaptations that normally help it complete its life cycle. The typical
journey of the parasite involves a cat and its prey, starting as eggs shed in an infected cat’s feces,
inadvertently eaten by a warm-blooded animal, such as a rat. The infected rat’s behavior alters so that it
becomes more active, less cautious and more likely to be eaten by a cat, where the parasite completes its
life cycle. Many other warm-blooded vertebrates may be infected by this pathogen. After producing usually
mild flu-like symptoms in humans, the parasite tends to remain in a dormant state in the brain and other
tissues.

Evidence for subtle long-term effects on an individual’s personality reported by researchers in the Czech
Republic inspired Lafferty to explore whether a shift in the average, or aggregate, personality of a population
might occur where Toxoplasma has infected a higher proportion of individuals. Infection with Toxoplasma
varies considerably from one population to another; in some countries it is very rare while in others nearly
all adults are infected. To test his hypothesis, Lafferty used published data on cultural dimension and
aggregate personality for countries where there were also published data on the prevalence of Toxoplasma
antibodies in women of childbearing age. Pregnant women are tested for antibodies because of the serious
risk posed by toxoplasmosis to fetuses, which lack their own immune systems.

The results of previous work suggested that Toxoplasma could affect specific elements of human culture.
Toxoplasma is associated with different, often opposite, behavioral changes in men and women, but both
genders exhibit guilt proneness (a form of neuroticism). Lafferty’s analysis found that countries with high
Toxoplasma prevalence had a higher aggregate neuroticism score, and western nations with high
prevalence also scored higher in the ‘neurotic’ cultural dimensions of ‘masculine’ sex roles and
uncertainty avoidance.

“There could be a lot more to this story. Different responses to the parasite by men and women could lead
to a many additional cultural effects that are, as yet, difficult to analyze,” said Lafferty.

Lafferty suggested that because climate affects the persistence of infectious states of Toxoplasma in the
environment, it helps drive the geographic variation in the parasite’s prevalence by increasing exposure
risk. The parasite’s eggs can live longer in humid, low-altitude regions, especially at mid latitudes that
have infrequent freezing and thawing. Cultural practices of food preparation – such as rare or undercooked
meats, or poor hygiene – and cats as pets also can increase exposure to infection. Lafferty added,
“Toxoplasmosis is one of many factors that may influence personality and culture, which may also include
the effects of other infectious diseases, genetics, environment and history. Efforts to control this infectious
pathogen could bring about cultural changes.”

“This is not to say that the cultural dimensions associated with T. gondii are necessarily undesirable,”
noted Lafferty. “After all, they add to our cultural diversity.”

How could this change society?
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