It’s been said that, for better or worse, romantic love is a kind of mind control. Scientists can measure the physiological responses associated with this phenomenon, and it’s quite similar to states induced by various chemicals.

Perhaps that’s why it’s so addictive.

On the other hand, the kind of long-lasting affection, trust and devotion into which the best romances blossom is physiologically quite different. It seems clear that the “mind control” associated with romantic love has a biological purpose of promoting pair bonding.

Other kinds of mind control exist in nature, too. Some are not so beneficial; some are even parasitic.

Technovelgy reports that various parasites control the behavior of their hosts, subtly altering it from survival to self-destruction – but self-destruction that benefits the host.

There’s a fluke that compels its ant host to bind itself to a grass blade. This increases the probability that the ant will be consumed by a grazing animal. The fluke must enter the digestive system of a grazing animal as part of its reproductive cycle.

Another fluke makes fish move in a way that attracts the attention of wading birds – which then eat them. Like the ant fluke, this one needs to enter the bird’s digestive system.

Hairworms are parasites that live in grasshoppers. At a certain point in the grasshopper’s life, they force the insects to jump into pools of water and drown. This, too, is necessary to the parasites’ life cycle.

All this raises a very provocative question: If parasites are capable of totally overriding the self-defense mechanisms of lower-order organisms, might they do the same to advanced mammals, or even to us?

Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite found in the digestive systems of rats, affects their behavior. Healthy rats, understandably, avoid the smell of cat urine. This is such a strong response that scientists can use cat urine to induce panic in rats.

However, new research at Oxford University reveals that Toxoplasma-infected rats show no fear of cat urine. In fact, some even seek it out.

Toxoplasma gondii is also found in humans. Approximately half the world’s population is infected. If the parasite can alter rat behavior, does it have any effect on humans?

Dr. E. Fuller Torrey of the Stanley Medical Research Institute has noticed that the parasite causes damage to astrocytes – cells which surround and support neurons.

Schizophrenia is associated with damaged astrocytes. Pregnant women infected with Toxoplasma have a higher incidence of schizophrenia in their children.

The good news is that the antipsychotic drug haloperidol seems quite effective at killing the parasite.

But considering how recent discovery of mind-altering microorganisms is, the lingering question remains: Our other microorganisms affecting human behavior, as yet unbeknownst to us?

This is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Whole new classes of microorganisms have been discovered in recent years. Consider the poorly named “Nanobacteria” – organisms even smaller than viruses that are apparently responsible for the construction of calcium deposits in your arteries.

Prions are another case of something recently discovered that acts like a life form and reproduces, yet doesn’t meet the traditional definition of life. A prion is nothing but a misshapen protein that reproduces by causing normal proteins next to it to become similarly deformed, and so on like dominoes. This cascade process destroys the brain of the haplessly infected organism.

On the other hand, I have confidence that the powers of these microorganisms will soon be harnessed for intelligent and constructive purposes. In a recent e-mail update for Emerging Capital Report subscribers, I wrote of how scientists have recently figured out a way to modify the common cold virus with surface attributes of the deadly avian flu. The result is looking like an ideal vaccine for avian flu.

Similarly, scientists are exploring ways to take other naturally occurring organisms and modify them for useful purposes. I fully expect that, as the “mind control” qualities of certain microorganisms are better understood, scientists will devise ways to genetically modify these organisms for the purpose of induced inducing mental health.

How? If schizophrenia can be induced by a microorganism, thus modifying the DNA or biochemistry in a biochemical pathway, it stands to reason that a modified version of the same microorganism could correct the damage.

Similarly, mental illnesses such as depression are due to improperly functioning metabolic processes. While these can be controlled through drugs, wouldn’t it be amazing if you could receive a genetically engineered infection that would permanently normalize the brain’s function, without adverse side effects?

Such targeted therapies – assuming they can be developed at all – are years away from human clinical trials. However, I expect that scientists are already exploring the possibility of doing this in the laboratory, and wouldn’t be surprised if some bright young researcher is formulating animal studies as I write this.

I fully expect to see new companies spinning off from universities to exploit such targeted therapeutics in the next several years. We’ll be watching for them.

To your profitable future,
Jonathan Kolber
February 7, 2007

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