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Kinder zeigen traumabedingte seelische Verletzungen durch veränderte Verhaltensweisen bzw. Stress- und Traumasymptome. Diese im täglichen Kindergartenalltag als solche zu er-kennen und situativ sensitiv darauf zu reagieren, bedarf eines genauen Hinsehens und Reflek-tierens seitens der Fachkräfte. Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit beschäftigte sich mit der Frage, inwieweit Traumata bzw. Traumafolgestörungen bei Kindern im Kindergarten von Fachkräften als solche erkannt und mit der Pädagogik des sicheren Ortes verknüpft werden. Dazu wurden mittels eines Fragebogens N=132 aktive Pädagog*innen befragt. Die Ergebnis-se zeigten, dass Elementarpädagog*innen Aussagen traumabedingter Symptome als solche richtig einordneten, jedoch ohne Verknüpfung zu erlebten Verhaltensweisen der Kinder. Ihr Tun und Handeln sahen Pädagog*innen als eher intuitiv gesteuert. Ebenso wurde deutlich, dass das Wissen über Konzepte der Traumapädagogik wie die Pädagogik des sicheren Ortes nicht bewusst in den pädagogischen Alltag einfließen. Dies führte zur Schlussfolgerung, dass ein Implementieren der Konzepte der Traumapädagogik sowohl in die elementarpädagogische Praxis als auch bereits in die Ausbildung von Pädagog*innen als sinnvoll zu erachten ist. Children show trauma-related psychological scars through changed behaviour or stress and trauma symptoms. To recognise these as such in the daily kindergarten routine and to react sensitively to them requires close observation and reflection on the part of the professionals. This Bachelor's thesis dealt with the question of the extent to which trauma or trauma seque-lae in children in kindergartens are recognised as such by professionals and linked to the ped-agogy of the safe place. For this purpose, N=132 active educators were interviewed by means of a questionnaire. The results showed that elementary teachers correctly classified statements of trauma-related symptoms as such, but without linking them to the children's behaviour. The educators saw their actions as rather intuitively controlled. It also became clear that knowledge of trauma pedagogy concepts such as safe place pedagogy is not consciously incorporated into every-day pedagogy. This led to the conclusion that it makes sense to implement the concepts of trauma pedagogy both in elementary pedagogical practice and in the training of pedagogues.

The apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, can infect all warm-blooded animals. T. gondii can subtly alter host behaviours—either through manipulation to enhance transmission to the feline definitive host or as a side-effect, or ‘constraint’, of infection. In humans, T. gondii infection, either alone or in association with other co-infecting neurotropic agents, has been reliably associated with both subtle behavioural changes and, in some cases, severe neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Research on the potential impact of T. gondii on the behaviour of other long-lived naturally-infected hosts is lacking. Recent studies reported a large number of wild red foxes exhibiting a range of aberrant behavioural traits, subsequently classified as Dopey Fox Syndrome (DFS). Here we assessed the potential association between T. gondii and/or other neurotropic agents with DFS. Live, captive foxes within welfare centres were serologically tested for T. gondii and, if they died naturally, PCR-tested for vulpine circovirus (FoxCV). Post-mortem pseudo-control wild foxes, obtained from pest management companies, were PCR-tested for T. gondii, FoxCV, canine distemper virus (CDV), canine adenovirus type-1 (CAV-1) and CAV-2. We also assessed, using non-invasive assays, whether T. gondii-infected foxes showed subtle behavioural alterations as observed among infected rodent (and other) hosts, including altered activity, risk and stress levels. All foxes tested negative for CAV, CDV, CHV and DogCV. DFS was found to be associated with singular T. gondii infection (captives vs. pseudo-controls, 33.3% (3/9) vs. 6.8% (5/74)) and singular FoxCV infection (66.7% (6/9) vs. 11.1% (1/9)) and with T. gondii/FoxCV co-infection (33.3% (3/9) vs. 11.1% (1/9)). Overall, a higher proportion of captive foxes had signs of neuroinflammation compared to pseudo-controls (66.7% (4/6) vs. 11.1% (1/9)). Consistent with behavioural changes seen in infected rodents, T. gondii-infected foxes displayed increased attraction towards feline odour (n=6 foxes). These preliminary results suggest that wild foxes with DFS are infected with T. gondii and likely co-infected with FoxCV and/or another co-infecting neurotropic agent. Our findings using this novel system have important implications for our understanding of both the impact of parasites on mammalian host behaviour in general and, potentially, of the infectious causation of certain neuropsychiatric disorders.

Parasitic infections are often followed by changes in host behaviour. Numerous and exquisite examples of such behavioural alterations are known, covering a broad spectrum of parasites and hosts. Most descriptions of such parasite-induced changes in host behaviour are observational reports, while experimentally confirmed examples of parasite genes inducing these changes are limited. In this study, we review changes in invertebrate host behaviour observed upon infection by parasites and discuss such changes in an evolutionary context. We then explore possible mechanisms involved in parasite-induced changes in host behaviour. Genes and pathways known to play a role in invertebrate behaviour are reviewed, and we hypothesize how parasites (may) affect these pathways. This review provides the state of the art in this exciting, interdisciplinary field by exploring possible pathways triggered in hosts, suggesting methodologies to unravel the molecular mechanisms that lead to changes in host behaviour.