This Is Your Brain on Parasites

How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Behavior and Shape Society

By: Kathleen McAuliffe

Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

A riveting investigation of the myriad ways that parasites control how other creatures - including humans - think, feel, and act.

These tiny organisms can live only inside another animal, and, as McAuliffe reveals, they have many evolutionary motives for manipulating their host's behavior. Far more often than appreciated, these puppeteers orchestrate the interplay between predator and prey. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them.

We humans are hardly immune to the profound influence of parasites. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness, impulsivity - even suicide. Microbes in our gut affect our emotions and the very wiring of our brains. Germs that cause colds and flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent.

Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. As McAuliffe documents, a subconscious fear of contagion impacts virtually every aspect of our lives, from our sexual attractions and social circles to our morals and political views. Drawing on a huge body of research, she argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites - and a double-edged sword. The horror and revulsion we feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day.

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.

©2016 Kathleen McAuliffe (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

who are you?

it seem you are a city all to yourself. the million of things living on and in you, how much of it is you and do they get a vote do they have and how much is really you? this book is trying to look at that.

Parasites Rule!

The author is not shy about hypothesizing broad impacts on human behavior and even society from microbes and other parasites. In most cases, McAuliffe acknowledges her biases and ignorance. There are two areas she does not that some readers may be put off by: law and religion. For the former, she flat out does not understand the difference between guilt and sentencing or even the purpose of the criminal justice system. For the latter, she basically assumes that something "caused" religion to arise. She does not acknowledge the possiblity that a Supreme Being or beings help people navigate a difficult world, or at least that some rational people might believe as much. These are only two negative observations that might affect some readers. It is overall a fascinating book.

Fascinating!

I typically stick to fiction books, but decided to give this one a shot out of (morbid?) curiosity. What a great choice! It is a fascinating account of how parasites and microbes affect our own lives and our interactions with others. That may sound like a dull subject, but it is as enjoyable and interesting a listen as anything I’ve experienced so far.

Fascinating!

I found this book to be absolutely riveting, even for a layperson like me. I will very likely listen to this again soon.

Yikes! Parasites makes us white we are!

This book dedicates a whole chapter on the parasite that is found on cats faces. It can make you a totally different person and might even cause mental illness. Very interesting information about parasites, yikes!

Pleasant summary

This was a nice summary of parasites, microorganisms and other interesting titbits. Some have complained about the statements not being verified by enough science. The author gives the facts as they appear from the limited observations. She makes it clear there is much more to say on the issue. I found the weakest parts of the book when she frames everything in an evolutionary framework. This is a weakeness with nearly all similar contemporary works. The fact that ancient religions seemingly instantly hit upon the best ways to avoid contagion through unintuitive practices, should give the know it all evolutionary biologists pause. It seems obvious that "eating of this fruit (containing microorganisms) will make you wise" could be more than a cute metaphor . So when she restates the tired X did this Because of evolution i find it lacking. At this point who knows why things became the way they are??? Continuing scientific research is needed, but everything seen and also things unseen should be put on the table . This book furthers the dialogue. The disgust chapter was nice, although I question some of that data. Your average Alaska resident is very conservative, yet seems less bothered by blood and guts than your average New York liberal. I mean they kill and gut much of their own food. The moderator was good, she had a nice pleasant voice. There were a couple misread words, moral instead of mortal. No biggie.

Absolutely recommend!

Your mind will explode with all the information you discover ! Absolutely loved every moment of it ! And it was a progressive climb that kept it more and more Interesting.

Insightful

There is so much to digest in this book, the presentation is fantastic. I've caught myself going back over chapters a few times with friends.

An amazing treatise on the myriad ways of parasites

I had started this book several times but seldom got past the first chapter. As a Christian I had issues with the constant reference to evolutionary biology. However, after I resolved not to let that word bother me, I found the book unusually insightful. Indeed, I learned things that had never occurred to me regarding the relationship between the parasitic organism and the particular host.

To my Christian brethren, let me say that while I strongly regard evolution theory as utter foolishness, it can be profitable to ignore that nonsense and glean knowledge that would otherwise remain obscure if we simply reject out of hand any work containing references to evolution. Brethren, we can and should learn wonderful things about our world while keeping the faith that guards our hearts from deception. Consider this in prayerful meditation.

very interesting

I found the interactions between disease, parasites and the emotional immune system to be thought provoking and insightful.