title: Is Toxoplasma Gondii Infection Related to Brain and Behavior Impairments in Humans? Evidence from a Population-Representative Birth Cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a protozoan parasite present in around a third of the human population. Infected individuals are commonly asymptomatic, though recent reports have suggested that infection might influence aspects of the host's behavior. In particular, Toxoplasma infection has been linked to schizophrenia, suicide attempt, differences in aspects of personality and poorer neurocognitive performance. However, these studies are often conducted in clinical samples or convenience samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a population-representative birth-cohort of individuals tested for presence of antibodies to T. gondii (N = 837) we investigated the association between infection and four facets of human behavior: neuropsychiatric disorder (schizophrenia and major depression), poor impulse control (suicidal behavior and criminality), personality, and neurocognitive performance. Suicide attempt was marginally more frequent among individuals with T. gondii seropositivity (p = .06). Seropositive individuals also performed worse on one out of 14 measures of neuropsychological function.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  On the whole, there was little evidence that T. gondii was related to increased risk of psychiatric disorder, poor impulse control, personality aberrations or neurocognitive impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.|Duke Center for Genomic & Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugden
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.|Duke Center for Genomic & Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.|Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Terrie E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Moffitt
authors.affiliation: Duke Center for Genomic & Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lauriane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Richie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poulton
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.|Duke Center for Genomic & Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Benjamin S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.|Duke Center for Genomic & Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.|Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Avshalom
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caspi
mesh_terms: D001519:Behavior; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D036801:Parturition; D010551:Personality; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*