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Exposure to Microorganisms and Adult Psychiatric Disorders: The Case for a Causal Role of Toxoplasma gondii

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Immunology and Psychiatry

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Neurotoxicity ((Current Topics Neurotoxicity,volume 8))

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Abstract

Since the 1970s there has been an increasing interest in infectious agents as possible causes of serious mental illness. The microorganism which has been most intensively studied is Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite carried by felines. Several lines of research have suggested that T. gondii is associated with schizophrenia: increased prevalence of T. gondii antibodies in individuals with this disease, and in mothers who give birth to individuals who later are so diagnosed; increased childhood contact with cats by individuals who later are so diagnosed; the fact that T. gondii affects several neurotransmitters and makes dopamine; and the fact that some antipsychotics suppress T. gondii. But is there any evidence that this association is etiological? Austin Bradford Hill published criteria for assessing possible etiological associations between environmental factors and complex diseases. His criteria include strength of association, consistency of findings, specificity of findings, temporality of relationship, biological gradient, plausibility of relationship, coherence of relationship, analogy with other data, and experimental data. Using these criteria, it is concluded that an etiological relationship between T. gondii and some cases of schizophrenia is reasonable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Blalock 1105, Baltimore, MD, 21287-4933, USA

    Robert H. Yolken

  2. The Stanley Medical Research Institute, 8401 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 200, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815, USA

    E. Fuller Torrey

Authors
  1. Robert H. Yolken
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  2. E. Fuller Torrey
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Correspondence to E. Fuller Torrey .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University Clinic, Campus Innenstadt Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany

    Norbert Müller

  2. University Clinic, Campus Innenstadt PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Group, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany

    Aye-Mu Myint

  3. Institute fuer Laboratoriumsmedizin, Klinikum der Universitaet Muenchen, Muenchen, Germany

    Markus J. Schwarz

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Yolken, R.H., Torrey, E.F. (2015). Exposure to Microorganisms and Adult Psychiatric Disorders: The Case for a Causal Role of Toxoplasma gondii . In: Müller, N., Myint, AM., Schwarz, M. (eds) Immunology and Psychiatry. Current Topics in Neurotoxicity, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13602-8_7

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