This Is Your Brain on Parasites

Paperback, 304 pages

Published May 16, 2017 by Eamon Dolan/Mariner Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-544-94725-2

(1 review)

"Based on a wildly popular Atlantic article: an astonishing investigation into the world of microbes, and the myriad ways they control how other creatures -- including humans -- act, feel, and think As we are now discovering, parasites -- microbes that cannot thrive and reproduce without another organism as a host -- are shockingly sophisticated and extraordinarily powerful. In fact, a plethora of parasites affect our behavior in ways we have barely begun to understand. In this mind-bending book, McAuliffe reveals the eons-old war between parasites and other creatures that is playing out in our very own bodies. And more surprising still, she uncovers the decisive role that parasites may have played in the rise and demise of entire civilizations. Our obsession with cleanliness and our experience of disgust are both evolutionary tools for avoiding infection, but they evolved differently for different populations. Political, social, and religious differences among societies …

"Based on a wildly popular Atlantic article: an astonishing investigation into the world of microbes, and the myriad ways they control how other creatures -- including humans -- act, feel, and think As we are now discovering, parasites -- microbes that cannot thrive and reproduce without another organism as a host -- are shockingly sophisticated and extraordinarily powerful. In fact, a plethora of parasites affect our behavior in ways we have barely begun to understand. In this mind-bending book, McAuliffe reveals the eons-old war between parasites and other creatures that is playing out in our very own bodies. And more surprising still, she uncovers the decisive role that parasites may have played in the rise and demise of entire civilizations. Our obsession with cleanliness and our experience of disgust are both evolutionary tools for avoiding infection, but they evolved differently for different populations. Political, social, and religious differences among societies may be caused, in part, by the different parasites that prey on us. In the tradition of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish, This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human."--

2 editions

Thom reviewed This is your brain on parasites by Kathleen McAuliffe

Review of 'This Is Your Brain on Parasites' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The human body contains about 100 trillion cells, but roughly 90% of those are from bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. This book surveys how parasites, pathogens and viruses affect their hosts and those that move between species - like rats who love cats and zombie ants.

The first third of the book focuses on those species hopping parasites, including those like Toxoplasma gondii which can end up in humans. The text then moves into other pathogens, viruses, and our gut biome. Each problem has a way to avoid it, an immune response - many generated by the body itself. Perhaps the most interesting part is the last, which focuses on the Behavioral Immune System, a concept created by Mark Schaller to describe how individuals within society avoid infection.

That last conscious (and unconscious) method is also the most controversial. Studies are described connecting this avoidance to fear of immigrants, people …

The human body contains about 100 trillion cells, but roughly 90% of those are from bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. This book surveys how parasites, pathogens and viruses affect their hosts and those that move between species - like rats who love cats and zombie ants.

The first third of the book focuses on those species hopping parasites, including those like Toxoplasma gondii which can end up in humans. The text then moves into other pathogens, viruses, and our gut biome. Each problem has a way to avoid it, an immune response - many generated by the body itself. Perhaps the most interesting part is the last, which focuses on the Behavioral Immune System, a concept created by Mark Schaller to describe how individuals within society avoid infection.

That last conscious (and unconscious) method is also the most controversial. Studies are described connecting this avoidance to fear of immigrants, people who are unclean and even those with dark skin. Other connections made include collectivist vs individualism and even conservative vs liberal. A few studies do not make a truth, and correlation does not imply causation, but these sections do lead one to think.

The book jacket states it was extended from a successful article, and at times it feels like it. Descriptions fall a bit closer to pop science than clinical precision. Speculation is frequent, and the author focuses a little too much on disgust as a motivation. At various times, the author speculates on who exactly is in control, the parasite or "you".

Overall interesting, and a fairly quick read.