Cognitive and Microbiome Impacts of Experimental Ancylostoma ceylanicum Hookworm Infections in Hamsters.

ABSTRACT: Hookworms are one of the most prevalent and important parasites, infecting ~500 million people worldwide. Hookworm disease is among the leading causes of iron-deficiency anemia in the developing world and is associated with significant growth stunting and malnutrition. In humans, hookworms appear to impair memory and other forms of cognition, although definitive data are hard to come by. Here we study the impact of a human hookworm parasite, Ancylostoma ceylanicum, on cognition in hamsters in a controlled laboratory setting. We developed tests that measure long-term memory in hamsters. We find that hookworm-infected hamsters were fully capable of detecting a novel object. However, hookworm-infected hamsters were impaired in detecting a displaced object. Defects could be discerned at even a

SUBMITTER: Pan SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6536493 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature