Is It Possible That Viruses Can Control Our Behavior?

Could it be that viruses can control our behavior ? Maybe this is a question you never asked yourself, but many people have wondered about it. Sure, it may sound like a question taken from a science fiction novel or, frankly, a thriller. But in science, where much more complex questions are often asked, it has been discovered that this is indeed the case: viruses can change our behavior.

Of course, they do not do this directly. It is not that they seize our will or make decisions for us. But they actually do it in a more ingenious and unnoticed way. Because if there is one thing that these infectious, microscopic creatures strive for more than anything else, it is to survive, reproduce and become part of complex ecosystems.

Therefore, one way to achieve their vital goal is to change the behavior of the host they have intruded on, so that they can spread more virus particles. Thus, the purpose of many of the symptoms we experience when we suffer from the flu, diarrhea and even a common cold, is to pass them on to healthy individuals so that the infection can spread.

For example, sneezing is more than just a natural mechanism to free our bodies from intruders. In fact, it is also a way for viruses to “jump” from one organism to another. And it works, as we well know. However, there are even more fascinating (and disturbing) facts on this subject.

How is it possible for viruses to control our behavior?

The word “virus” is in itself frightening to us and especially in light of what is currently going on with COVID-19. As people often say, it is precisely the enemies you do not see that are the worst. Those who are only visible under a microscope and who have the power to weaken our health.

But what exactly are these living beings? In fact, they are nothing more than packages of genetic information. They are containers surrounded by an eye-catching protein capsule.

Their only goal is to penetrate the cells of other organisms in order to survive and multiply. And not only do they infect humans, they also invade animal organisms, plants, fungi and even bacteria.

So when we want to understand how viruses can have the ability to control our behavior , we must first come to the realization that they are smarter than we think.

Of course, they have no brains, but virologists often define them as very intelligent creatures. They know how to get into a cell, how to disarm it and transform it so that it reproduces virus particles. And, as we have pointed out before, they also change the behavior of the host. Let’s take a look at how it works.

Disease symptoms: the way the virus spreads

To investigate whether it is true that viruses can control our behavior, we refer to a recent study. It was published in the journal PLOS Pathogens and conducted by Dr. Claudia Hagbon and Dr. Maria Istrate at the University of Linköping.

In this study, they tried to do a closer look at a type of infectious disease that kills 600,000 children each year. This is a very high number and the cause is a rotavirus.

The most obvious symptoms are always vomiting and diarrhea. Vomiting has been thought to be a defense mechanism that the body uses to protect itself against the disease.

It was assumed, based on the connection between the brain and the intestines, that the vomiting was intended to rid the body of dangerous substances, spoiled food or other toxic substances.

In this case, it was serotonin that activated the nervous system, whereby the brain provoked this behavior and thus could free the body from these harmful substances.

But what the team of Swedish doctors discovered in this regard was the following: the rotavirus controls the mechanism behind vomiting and diarrhea and this does so for a very specific purpose: to spread the virus particles and infect other people.

The science behind behavioral virology

Is it true that viruses can control our behavior? As we see, the answer to this question is: yes. They do, and their strategy is to use our symptoms as a mechanism to infect other people or other hosts. With the goal of surviving and reproducing, they take control of such behaviors as e.g. sneezing, vomiting and diarrhea.

But in behavioral virology, they have gone a step further. Research of the type conducted at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm has led to more discoveries.

Some viruses can change our behavior completely. They can cause irritation, insomnia, restlessness and even radically change a person’s behavior.

An example of this is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (mad cow disease), where animals suffer from progressive dementia, difficulty moving, agitation and mood swings. Another example is the bornevirus infection, which was first observed in horses in 1766.

However, the disease has also affected people, where the clinical symptoms are very similar to schizophrenia. Rabies is another example of how a virus can change an animal’s behavior.

In conclusion, it can be stated that science fortunately protects us from the effects of many of these viruses. And as for the others, against whom we still have not developed a vaccine or a defense mechanism, there is an extremely effective weapon: diligent hand washing and good hygiene.