Correlation of duration of latent Toxoplasma gondii infection with personality changes in women

Many parasites induce characteristic changes in behavior of their hosts. In humans latent toxoplasmosis is associated with changes in personality prof iles. It has been already shown that a decrease in superego strength is cor related with duration of toxoplasmosis in men. Here we studied changes in p ersonality profiles with Cattell's 16 PF questionnaire in Toxoplasma-infect ed women. The changes were measured as differences in personality factors b etween Toxoplasma-infected subjects and uninfected controls of the same age . The low-rate changes were studied in 230 women diagnosed with acute toxop lasmosis during past 14 years. The results showed the correlation between d uration of toxoplasmosis and level of factors G (high superego strength) an d Q3 (high strength of self sentiment). The high-rate changes were estimate d by measuring the correlation between level of Toxoplasma-antibody titers (which rapidly decline after the end of acute phase of toxoplasmosis) and p ersonality factors in an experimental set of 55 young mothers with latent t oxoplasmosis. Again, certain factors, namely A (affectothymia), F (surgence ), G (high superego strength), H (parmia), and L (protension), correlated w ith the length of the infection. We suggest that the parasite induced the c hanges in the personality profiles of the women because of our observation of an increasingly different personality profile over time between women wi th latent infection and controls. The same evidence questions the view that women with a particular personality profile are more prone to acquisition of T. gondii infection. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.