From cats to cortex: T. gondii and psychosis, depression, and anxiety (opens in new tab)

This review examines whether cat ownership, via exposure to the neurotropic parasite T. gondii, contributes to vulnerability for psychotic, depressive, and anxiety symptoms. T. gondii establishes lifelong latent infection in the brain and muscle, where it can modulate dopaminergic signaling, neuroinflammation, and tryptophan–kynurenine metabolism, providing a biologically plausible pathway to altered cognition, mood, and behavior. Epidemiological and meta-analytic data indicate small-to-moder...