PALEOEPIDEMIOLOGY OF DIPHYLLOBOTHRIOSIS: CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING ADENOCEPHALUS INTENSITY AND PREVALENCE.

Peruvian and Chilean mummies and coprolites provide a source of population-based parasitological information. This is especially true of the fish tapeworm, Adenocephalus pacificus. Our analysis of Chinchorro and Chiribaya mummies and diversified coprolite samples from Chile and Peru show variation in infection.

HEAD LOUSE PALEOEPIDEMIOLOGY IN THE OSMORE RIVER VALLEY, SOUTHERN PERU.

Recent studies of louse ectoparasites from mummies have developed robust data sets that allow a true epidemiological approach to the prehistory of louse parasitism. One epidemiological principle is that the binomial of overdispersion is normally negative, meaning that in a host population, parasites are aggregated in a few individuals. We demonstrate the overdispersion of lice in 3 different prehistoric communities that differ along 3 axes or variables: environmental setting, socioeconomic status, and cultural affiliation.

Pathway-specific inputs to the superior colliculus support flexible responses to visual threat.

Behavioral flexibility requires directing feedforward sensory information to appropriate targets. In the superior colliculus, divergent outputs orchestrate different responses to visual threats, but the circuit organization enabling the flexible routing of sensory information remains unknown. To determine this structure, we focused on inhibitory projection (Gad2) neurons.

The neural basis of defensive behaviour evolution in mice.

Evading imminent predator threat is critical for survival. Effective defensive strategies can vary, even between closely related species. However, the neural basis of such species-specific behaviours is still poorly understood.

PALEOPARASITOLOGY OF HUMAN ACANTHOCEPHALAN INFECTION: A REVIEW AND NEW CASE FROM BONNEVILLE ESTATES ROCKSHELTER, NEVADA, U.S.A.

This study reports a new case of acanthocephalan (thorny-headed worm) eggs in a coprolite from Bonneville Estates Rockshelter in eastern Nevada and uses archaeological and ethnographic data to better understand long-term relationships between people and acanthocephalans. Acanthocephalans are parasitic worms that use arthropods as intermediate hosts in their multi-host life cycles. Though acanthocephaliasis is rare among humans today, cases have increased in the last decade, and the discovery of acanthocephalan eggs in coprolites from archaeological sites in the Great Basin suggests a deep, shared history.