Dolinsky Z S, Hardy C A, Burright R G, Donovick P J
Physiol Behav. 1985 Jul;35(1):33-42. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(85)90168-4.
Toxocara canis, the parasitic roundworm of the dog may infect aberrant hosts including mice and humans. The present study examined the behavioral and pathological changes at each of three postintubation periods (Period 1: 8-10 days, 2: 49-51 days, and 3: 84-86 days postintubation, respectively) in independent groups of mice intubated with 1000 eggs of T. canis. Eight-ten days after intubation Toxocara infected animals typically showed depressed levels of activity relative to saline-intubated controls. The scope and severity of behavioral changes were attenuated when different mice were tested 49-51 days after infection, and then became more severe when the third set of animals was tested 84-86 days after intubation. While brain pathology increased over the three periods, visceral organs showed marked pathology 8-10 days after intubation followed by a decrease in severity. These data suggest that Toxocara associated pathological changes in visceral organs and in the brain have behavioral consequences in mice. Given the similarity in migratory pathways of this parasite in rodents and humans, and the findings of T. canis larvae in human brain tissue, the results of this animal study may have implications concerning the possible etiology of behavioral disorders for children who have a known history of pica for dirt.
犬弓首蛔虫，即犬的寄生蛔虫，可能会感染包括小鼠和人类在内的异常宿主。本研究分别在三组独立的、经口接种1000枚犬弓首蛔虫卵的小鼠的三个接种后时期（时期1：接种后8 - 10天，时期2：接种后49 - 51天，时期3：接种后84 - 86天）检测了行为和病理变化。接种后8 - 10天，感染犬弓首蛔虫的动物相对于经生理盐水接种的对照组，通常表现出活动水平降低。当在感染后49 - 51天对不同小鼠进行测试时，行为变化的范围和严重程度有所减轻，而在接种后84 - 86天对第三组动物进行测试时，行为变化变得更加严重。虽然在这三个时期脑部病理变化有所增加，但内脏器官在接种后8 - 10天显示出明显的病理变化，随后严重程度下降。这些数据表明，犬弓首蛔虫在内脏器官和脑部引起的病理变化在小鼠中具有行为后果。鉴于这种寄生虫在啮齿动物和人类中的迁移途径相似，以及在人类脑组织中发现犬弓首蛔虫幼虫，这项动物研究的结果可能对有已知异食癖史的儿童行为障碍的可能病因具有启示意义。
