Toxoplasmosis-Associated Difference in Intelligence and Personality in Men Depends on Their Rhesus Blood Group but Not ABO Blood Group

Abstract

Background:The parasite Toxoplasma gondii influences the behaviour of infected animals and probably also personality of infected humans. Subjects with a Rhesus-positive blood group are protected against certain behavioural effects associated with Toxoplasma infection, including the deterioration of reaction times and personality factor shift.Methodology/Principal Findings:Here, we searched for differences in the toxoplasmosis-associated effects between RhD-positive and RhD-negative subjects by testing 502 soldiers with two personality tests and two intelligence tests. The infected subjects expressed lower levels of all potentially pathognomic factors measured with the N-70 questionnaire and in neurasthenia measured with NEO-PI-R. The RhD-positive, Toxoplasma-infected subjects expressed lower while RhD-negative, Toxoplasma-infected subjects expressed higher intelligence than their Toxoplasma-free peers. The observed Toxoplasma-associated differences were always larger in RhD-negative than in RhD-positive subjects.Conclusions:RhD phenotype plays an important role in the strength and direction of association between latent toxoplasmosis and not only psychomotor performance, but also personality and intelligence. © 2013 Flegr et al.