Can Cat Poop Make You Crazy Mad?

Cat poop, coveted by dogs and loathed by most humans, is suspected of making people mad, really mad. Researchers at the University of Chicago are convinced that people who are prone to explosive bouts of rage might be under the influence of toxoplasmosis, an illness caused by a parasite found in cat feces and undercooked meat. Strange but true. HealthDay reports that the study split 358 people into three groups–those with intermittent explosive disorder, those with a psychiatric disorder other than IED, and healthy controls with no mental illness. Then they tested for toxoplasmosis exposure. Ready? The envelope please….twenty-two percent of people with IED tested positive for toxoplasmosis exposure, compared to just 9 percent of the healthy control group. About 16 percent of the group with other psychiatric disorders tested positive for toxoplasmosis, but they had similar aggression and impulsivity scores to the healthy control group. IED-diagnosed subjects scored much higher on both measures than the other two groups, and toxoplasmosis-positive people scored significantly higher on measures of anger and aggression. Wait, there’s more. HealthDay reports that previous research has tied the parasite to an increased risk of suicide and suicidal behavior, which involve the same sort of impulsive and aggressive traits as intermittent explosive disorder. No, researchers don’t really know what’s up with that, but they suspect that toxoplasmosis could affect people’s mood and aggression by infecting areas of the brain that control emotional regulation.