Predator Cat Odors do what???

[cheez_ball]

Predator Cat Odors Activate Sexual Arousal Pathways in Brains of Toxoplasma gondii Infected Rats.

We've heard before that the protist Toxoplasma gondii can modulate the behavior of infected mammalian hosts (articles are in the reference section of the linked article).  What we haven't heard is that cat odor can stimulate sexual arousal in rats

Comments

[mercystars]

So basically, the smell of pussy drives 'em wild. /apologies all around/

Also, I'm a bit confused by this:

Bizarrely, rats infected with the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii approach the cat odors they typically avoid. Since the protozoan Toxoplasma requires the cat to sexually reproduce, this change in host behavior is thought to be a remarkable example of a parasite manipulating a mammalian host for its own benefit.

Did you mean to put 'rat' there where it says 'cat' here: 'since the protozoan toxoplasma requires the rat to sexually reproduce'?

[cheez_ball]

I copied and pasted from the abstract. Here's an illustration of the life cycle of T. gondii: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Toxoplasmosis_life_cycle_en.svg It appears that the cat, specifically, is necessary for sexual reproduction (fusion of gametes, etc).

[mercystars]

Thanks for clearing it up!

[jwaneeta]

Um... wow.