Scientists from the US have told that have found the virus that can affect the human brain. Never found in healthy people, but it turned out that it affects cognitive functions including visual processing and spatial awareness, writes Svopi.
It is reported that scientists from the medical school of Johns Hopkins and the University of Nebraska stumbled upon the discovery when they were studying microbes.
The researchers found DNA in the throats of healthy individuals that matched the DNA virus that infects green algae.
“This is one example showing that “small” organisms that we carry, can have a strong influence on the behavior and cognitive functions of a person, said virologist Dr. Robert Walken. — Many physiological differences between person A and person B are encoded in the set of genes that it inherits, but some of these differences are fueled by a variety of microorganisms and their interaction with human genes”.
So, from 90 study participants, 40 had a positive result for the virus. Those who had a positive result, showed the worst results on tests designed to measure speed and accuracy of visual processing. They also had lower scores in tasks designed to measure attention.
