This Is Your Brain on Parasites

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A very entertaining book that gives you a lot to ponder, but one thing to keep in mind is that the author is a journalist, not a scientist. That's not a negative, the book is well researched and well written but it feels like a number of the examples used are chosen for their entertainment value and their wow factor as opposed to scientific veracity. There are many experiments and theories that are highlighted in the book with caveats like "the results haven't yet been duplicated", or "the sample size was very small" etc. To clarify again, I enjoyed the book, but just keep in mind its a bit more skewed toward entertainment. That of course has the bonus of making it easier to grasp. The book starts out focusing on the animal kingdom and I think its where it really shines. Here you'll be reading about amazing parasites that take control of their hosts and force them to do very detrimental things. Things that will most often cause the host to kill itself, or get itself eaten so the parasite can continue on its life cycle. It's stuff that sounds like science fiction but is happening all around us. Following that, the book focuses more on humans and how parasites can affect us. The first major example is the parasite toxoplasma. Rats affected with toxo lose their fear of cats and become less risk averse, making them more likely to be eaten by a cat, which just so happens where the toxo want to live. The author then gives examples of similar situations in people. People with toxo apparently have a higher incidence of car accidents. Is the infection making them drive more recklessly? Some scientists believe so and their research follows that theory. Following that the book continues exploring the affect of parasites on peoples' personalities. Could parasites affect whether you're shy or outgoing? Liberal or conservative? Whether or not you like spicy food? Do societies that developed in areas where parasites are a concern differ from those that didn't? In what ways? Many people would brush those questions off with a quick no, but the book may make you think a little bit harder about it.

This book set me on the path to looking at the world in a different way: an unabashedly parasite-centric way. We are more microbe than humans! Some of our unconscious may be controlled by pathogens! Gut microbiome influences our brains, behaviors, and even personality!! Do you know how? Well... you can read it yourself. Save for anthelmintic, how parasites affect you? Are you happy to have high standards of hygiene? What do you think about the stomach churning emotion, disgust: visceral vs moral disgust? How politicians harness disgust sensitivity? How about Hillary Clinton's extended bathroom break during a Democratic primary debate? Do you wonder about whether you have the larger anterior insula relative to total brain size? Do you want to get the answers? Read it yourself. Remember the following tips: (1) eat vegetables that have been scrubbed throughly; (2) wear gloves while gardening; (3) cook meat well or, if you prefer it rare, freeze it first to kill the microbe's cysts ㅡT.gondii produces thick-walled cysts in the animal's muscle Ectoparasites and microscopic parasites may exist anywhere around you... and jeopardize you, your partner, and your offsprings.... So go get the book and read it yourself! Don't worry. I bet you will totally lose track of the time while reading. You will find yourself indulged in this a wee bit provocative topics. Well-written and very informative. I highly recommend this one to you.

I have been reading books on microbes since Life On Man, written several decades ago. This book is better than any I have read - by far. Anyone can present startling and important information, and she does that. But the writing itself, aside from the content, is highly readable and sophisticated, and you can enjoy this book for the writing alone, if you can ignore the amazing things that parasites can do and also the amazing things that people do, often unconsciously, to combat them. As a social psychologist, I have to congratulate her on the way she has incorporated psychological and anthropological principles into this book. It may be a must read for biologists, but also for psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists and just anyone who has been unaware of just how important parasites are and have been since the beginning. I will be highly surprised if this book doesn't win some important awards. I read a lot of nonfiction and this just stands out.

The author introduces us to this new field of study, with fascinating examples. It is very readable and thought provoking.

I am a molecular parasitologist with 10 years research experience in this discipline, and although I like to take a break from my work, sometimes I want to remind myself why I am doing this, because research is often focused on the details and not the big picture. This book is great place to start as a fun introduction to parasitology, or as a refresher highlighting the diverse impact parasites have on Earth and human society. The book covers manipulations of parasites on behavior of various animals including humans, and cites some examples familiar to readers of Richard Dawkins, and other science writers, but really dives deep into the most provocative and controversial aspects of microbiology and parasitology research and sociology. I really enjoyed her writing on toxoplasmosis, rabies, and emotional disgust, and it certainly got me thinking fresh thoughts on my chosen research career, and it's broader relevance outside of academia. Her writing is fast-paced, erudite and balanced, although at times she does get off-topic a little (e.g. Chapter 3 - caffeine in plants; Chapter 6 - commensal bacteria in the gut), nevertheless the unrelated examples are never boring, and do provide additional context. Alas, much to my chagrin, she does not mention the organism I study Trypanosoma brucei, which is infamous for causing African Sleeping Sickness as a result of brain invasion and inflammation, which chemically manipulates the sleep/wake cycle of brain activity in human hosts. For this reason I rate the book 4 stars, as she missed a premier and fascinating example in her showcases of brains on parasites, which killed millions of Africans in the 20th century. However, I will recommend this book to my scientist coworkers and undergraduates I teach and mentor in the future. An additional note - "Parasite Rex" by Carl Zimmer and "New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers" by Robert Desowitz are two other excellent popular science books on parasites in the last 40 years, I can also recommend reading. This book compliments both, and reading all three will educate and entertain you in different ways.

The book is well worth a read because it has personal and social points of great import for humanity and individuals, but sadly you'll have to ignore a double dose of attention seeking arrogance who's oddly ignorant when it comes to deeply and accurately understanding genuine solutions. Main value is drawing attention to problems that do indeed need thoroughly wise solutions.

I was inspired to buy this book due to passing many roundworms during a water fast. I did a 21-day water fast following the ebook Water Fasting by Jennifer Thompson. In her book, she describes how she had many parasitic intestinal worms released, even one that was more than 2 feet long! Well, any doubts I had about that story were dispelled after I saw my own spaghetti-like worms coming out in my enemas. I bought this book because I had to learn more! This book was very compelling to me to help me understand that these types of intestinal worms could have definitely attributed to my former depression and anxiety, which, after my water fast, are now GONE, flushed down the toilet with the worms perhaps?! I was so fascinated by the author's stories and studies regarding parasites and how they can affect behavior and the brain. Could this be one of the reasons why anxiety and depression seem to be running rampant in the modern world today? Now I know #1) I am not nor was I ever crazy #2) I will definitely be doing fasting and parasite cleansing on an annual basis for my overall health/immune system and #3) probiotics are worth their weight in gold. To the author - thank you for addressing such an important topic in terms of people's health and well being!