Inside The Mind Of A Cat

According to Kristyn Vitale, cat psychologist and associate professor at Unity College, cats do not respond well to negative reinforcement. To teach a cat what we want it to do, we need to praise and reward it when it does the right thing. Both Svitlana and Marina agree that going into a training session with a negative mindset always leads to failure as cats are intuitive of human emotions.

Inside the Mind of a Cat

However, scientists have yet to pin down a direct way that Toxoplasma gondii might control human minds, Live Science previously reported. In rodents, it's possible that the parasite secretes molecules that somehow rewire the brain; others think it may be due to brain cysts interfering with dopamine production; and another idea is that Toxoplasma gondii triggers inflammation in rodent brains, which may, in turn, change brain behavior and function, a 2019 study in the journal mBio found.

That said, humans with toxoplasmosis aren't mindless zombies doing the parasite's bidding. When in humans, there is no benefit to the parasite in making human behavior more risky; any effects are just a hangover from it manipulating the mouse brain, which is advantageous to the parasite. But given that the parasite might lead to some behavioral changes in humans, be mindful of that if you have cats and you're driving your car to a potential business opportunity.

In another exchange, Twitchell expressed dismay over the outrage his case caused. He complains, "I find the whole thing highly hypocritical. ... There's something obtuse about someone taking a savage glee in watching psychotics brutally murder dozens of people on T.V. and then suddenly playing as thought their stomach is turning inside out when this happens under totally unique circumstances in a real-life, isolated incident." 041b061a72