Contrasting alterations in brain chemistry in a crustacean intermediate host of two acanthocephalan parasites

Raw data on brain chemistry (total protein, antioxidant capacity and monoamines) in the amphipod Gammarus fossarum, infected with acanthocephalan parasites (Pomphorhynchus terreticollis and Polymorphus minutus):
• Parasite-induced behavioral changes may rely on host adaptive behavioral flexibility
• Brain chemistry mediating flexibility may be altered in acanthocephalan-infected host
• Brain total protein is higher in intermediate host infected by two acanthocephalans
• Antioxidant capacity is decreased by one parasite, dopamine content is increased by the other
• Species- and season-specific neurochemical changes reflect variable host response