Cognitive and Microbiome Impacts of Experimental Ancylostoma ceylanicum Hookworm Infections in Hamsters

Hookworms are one of the most prevalent and important parasites of humans globally. Studies have linked human hookworm infections with anemia, nutritional deficiency, and growth stunting. In humans, hookworms appear to negatively impair memory and cognition, although definitive data are hard to come by because of the constraints of studies in impoverished infected populations. Using Golden hamsters that are susceptible to the human hookworm parasite Ancylostoma ceylanicum, we study the impact of a human hookworm parasite on cognition and behavior. As a possible mechanism to understand how an acute hookworm infection could affect cognition, we studied the impact of the experimental hookworm infection on the intestinal microbiome.