Cienciaes.com: Parasites, manipulation and language.

2021-06-11 11:27:17

Today I am going to deal with a topic related to the importance of language as a means to parasitize our minds and change our behavior for the benefit of others. This is related to the importance that parasites have had during the evolution of all species and also in the evolution of behavior, and its manipulation by parasites.

As always, we will hear what he was talking about more than two decades ago, and today we will also talk about whether there has been progress on this interesting topic of how parasites manipulate the behavior of their hosts and whether language is a means to parasitize others in our species. “Here you can read what he published in April 2001.”:

What developments have occurred on the interesting subject of how some parasites manipulate the behavior of the beings they parasitize?

It seems that in addition to manipulation called enhanced trophic facilitation, which is the mechanism that Toxoplasma performs with mice and cats, there are other manipulation mechanisms in which the parasite modifies the host’s behavior to increase parasite protection or of his offspring. This manipulation mechanism is called bodyguard manipulation.

Behavior manipulation is accomplished through changes in the neurochemical communication between the cells of the victims’ nervous system. The study of the mechanisms of this manipulation has given rise to a new scientific discipline, called neuroparasitology. This discipline also takes into account how parasites can manipulate the host’s immune system in order to generate the molecules and substances that can ultimately affect their behaviour. It is now well known that the nervous system and the immune system are related in various ways, and it seems that some parasites have discovered them long before us and have used them to their advantage.

Another form of parasite manipulation consists in the secretion of substances that interfere with certain hormones, which undoubtedly play an important role in regulating sexual behavior, eating, etc.

Virtually any type of parasite can affect behavior. Perhaps one of the first known is the rabies virus, which increases aggressiveness, salivation and, therefore, the spread of some animals to others thanks to the induction of this aggressive behavior.

But in addition to viruses, protozoa and also worms have manipulative species. We have already talked about Toxoplasma gondii, which is a protozoan. There are also worms that live in the intestines of animals and that manipulate their behavior from there. One of the most curious is the so-called horsehair worm, which parasitizes crickets and makes them always look for light and walk faster than normal, which at night leads them towards ponds or puddles that reflect light from Moon. Once in the water, the worm that parasitizes the cricket leaves it through the anus and swims away, while the poor cricket often drowns.

There are many more examples of fascinating parasites that tell us about the intricate relationships between species that have appeared throughout evolution. Unfortunately we do not have time to treat them all here.

And about the language? Is he also a manipulative parasite? Well, what he said twenty years ago was speculation, which I think continues to be so today. I leave it to your reflection, and for debates with friends and relatives interested in these aspects of science, whether language, in addition to communicating, also serves or not to manipulate and parasitize minds. What do you think? Is your thought free or is it already parasitized to make you believe that it is free?

Jorge Laborda (06/11/2021)

Works by Jorge Laborda.

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