Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
Neurobiol Aging. 2021 Jun;102:119-128. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.02.007. Epub 2021 Feb 11.
About one-third of the world's population has latent toxoplasmosis, which is typically most prevalent in old age due to its lifelong persistence. Most infected people do not reveal clinically relevant symptoms, but T. gondii might trigger cognitive changes in otherwise asymptomatic individuals. As intact cognitive processes are essential for various achievements and successful aging, this review focuses on the cognitive profile associated with latent toxoplasmosis across the lifespan. It could be explained by a shift in balance between direct effects (increased dopamine synthesis) and indirect effects (neurodegeneration and chronic inflammation, which can decrease dopamine levels). Based thereon, we provide a possibly comprehensive framework of how T. gondii can differently affect cognitive performance across the lifespan (i.e., from increased catecholaminergic signaling in young age to decreased signaling in old age). We outline how future studies may inform our knowledge on the role of individual differences in response to T. gondii and how longitudinal studies can help trace the temporal dynamics in the shift of the balance between direct and indirect effects.
全世界约有三分之一的人口患有潜伏性弓形体病，由于其终生存在，该病在老年时最为常见。大多数感染的人没有表现出明显的临床相关症状，但弓形体可能会导致原本无症状的个体认知发生变化。由于完整的认知过程对于各种成就和成功老龄化至关重要，因此本综述重点关注了潜伏性弓形体病在整个生命周期中与认知相关的特征。这可以通过直接影响（增加多巴胺合成）和间接影响（神经退行性变和慢性炎症，会降低多巴胺水平）之间的平衡变化来解释。基于此，我们提供了一个可能全面的框架，说明弓形体如何在整个生命周期中（即从年轻时的儿茶酚胺信号增加到老年时的信号减少）对认知表现产生不同的影响。我们概述了未来的研究如何为我们提供关于个体差异对弓形体反应的作用的知识，以及纵向研究如何帮助追踪直接和间接影响之间平衡变化的时间动态。
