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Toxoplasma gondii Infection as a Risk Factor for Major Psychiatric Disorders: Pre-clinical and Clinical Evidence

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Perinatal Inflammation and Adult Psychopathology

Part of the book series: Progress in Inflammation Research ((PIR,volume 84))

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Abstract

The link between toxoplasmosis and major psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, has been an important field of investigation in immunopsychiatry. Toxoplasma gondii is a parasitic protozoan that lodges in parenchymatous tissues like the central nervous system, disrupting their normal functioning and activating immune cells. T. gondii infection may occur in two different ways: (i) acquired through consumption of T. gondii as a foodborne pathogen and (ii) vertically from mother to fetus. Maternal toxoplasmosis infection activates the immune system of both mother and fetus. Fetal brain can be affected by such immune activation, explaining in part the association between congenital toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia. Moreover, T. gondii may induce a disruption in dopaminergic signaling pathways in the brain, which may lead to psychotic episodes. In this chapter, we discuss the pre-clinical and clinical evidence on the association between perinatal and postnatal T. gondii infection and the development of neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as the pathophysiological mechanisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Investigação Médica (LIIM), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    João Luís Vieira Monteiro de Barros & Aline Silva de Miranda

  2. Laboratório de Neurobiologia, Departamento de Morfologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Aline Silva de Miranda

  3. Neuropsychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Antonio Lucio Teixeira

  4. Santa Casa BH Ensino & Pesquisa, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Antonio Lucio Teixeira

Authors
  1. João Luís Vieira Monteiro de Barros
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  2. Aline Silva de Miranda
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  3. Antonio Lucio Teixeira
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Correspondence to Antonio Lucio Teixeira .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UT Health Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Antonio L. Teixeira

  2. Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil

    Danielle Macedo

  3. Psychiatry, University of Munster, Munster, Germany

    Bernhard T. Baune

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de Barros, J.L.V.M., de Miranda, A.S., Teixeira, A.L. (2020). Toxoplasma gondii Infection as a Risk Factor for Major Psychiatric Disorders: Pre-clinical and Clinical Evidence. In: Teixeira, A.L., Macedo, D., Baune, B.T. (eds) Perinatal Inflammation and Adult Psychopathology. Progress in Inflammation Research, vol 84. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39335-9_7

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