Toxoplasma gondii: Model Manipulating by the Host Behaviour

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite. Its life cycle includes two hosts, intermediate host (Mice, Rats, Birds, and Mammalians) and definitive host (feline family) which may be intermediate host, also. Toxoplasma infection exhibited variable consequences ranging from aborted to hard infections, in addition to modifications cytokines, change gene expression, and behaviour alterations. Alteration of behaviour mechanism includes stimulating a special immune response, a change in the rate of concentration of many neurotransmitters, and a change in the concentration of some important hormones, in addition to many genetic modifications. Many researches have established the association between Toxoplasma infection and various behaviour of the intermediate host. On the other hand, many studies regret the presence of such a relationship. Comparing the results of both studies, it can be said that the parasite infection has a clear role in the emergence of many behavior disorders that may sometimes reach schizophrenia, where the interaction of the parasite presence with the strength of the immune response and the effect of it on the concentration of neurotransmitters and some other hormones have confirmed their occurrence as confirmed the occurrence of pathological effect.