THE EFFECTS OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII INFECTIONS ON ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND LEARNING IN OFFSPRINGS OF INFECTED PARENTS

Erol AYAZ¹ , Hayriye SOYTÜRK² , Kerem YAMAN³ , Ayhan ÇETİNKAYA⁴ , Bihter Gökçe BOZAT⁵ , Mücahit ÇAKMAK⁶ , Enes EĞİLMEZ⁷

Toxoplasma Gondii is a zoonotic parasite showing intracellular localization. Although it doesn’t select a specific region in the brain tissue, the cyst forms occurring in the chronic phase may cause behavioral changes when it is located in the brain regions related to behavior. The aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases caused by antibodies transmitted to the first generation of T.Gondii infection by behavioral tests. In this study, using a total of 24 female and 6 male rats. Behavioral tests have been applied to F1 generation groups female and male. In this study, female rats with chronic T.Gondii infection have been found to have increased anxiety in open field in the first generation male offsprings and decreased locomotor activity. Increased mobility in male offsprings has been observed in the elevated plus maze test. In female offspring, it has reduced anxiety and depression.

Keywords
Toxoplasma Gondii, Behavior, Anxiety, Memory, Learning,