"Infections Linked to Personality Regardless of Health Decline"
New research challenges the belief that behavioral changes in individuals infected with Toxoplasma gondii and Borrelia spp. are solely due to compromised health, suggesting a direct link to personality traits and cognitive functions. The study, involving nearly 8,000 participants, found that infected individuals exhibited altered personality traits, lower disgust sensitivity, and impaired cognitive processing speed and accuracy, independent of their overall health status. However, the study's cross-sectional nature limits the ability to draw causal inferences, leaving the question of whether these infections directly cause the observed differences unanswered.