History Main / MindVirus

* ''Anime/KingOfThorn'': The [[TakenForGranite Medusa disease]] actually infects human psyche.

* The Despair Disease of ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2'' changes the personalities of the infected into their complete opposites. [[spoiler:The humorous [[GenkiGirl Genki Girl]] Ibuki Mioda becomes [[TheComicallySerious The Comically Serious]], incredibly gullible and unable to understand jokes. The strong, confident Akane Owari becomes a total crybaby (with Monokuma even calling her variant of the disease "the Crybaby Disease"), continuously crying about Nekomaru and her inability to save him. The [[BrutalHonesty Brutally Honest]] Nagito Komaeda starts constantly telling [[BlatantLies Blatant Lies]], and the extremely shy, meek and fragile Mikan Tsumiki reverts to her Ultimate Despair state, becoming mentally unstable and murdering Ibuki Mioda and Hiyoko Saionji as a result.]]

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* ''Series/{{Taken}}'': In "High Hopes", the implant [[spoiler:removed from Russell Keys' frontal lobe]] causes the surgical team and the [=MPs=] standing guard to go insane with seconds of being exposed to it. They immediately start killing each other.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has [[spoiler: Nemesis, a mental plague that warps its victims to the service of the Outsiders. Dropped hints suggest that nearly every villain Dresden encounters may have been influenced by Nemesis.]]

* Rabies is best known for its "furious" state, in which the virus drives the host to actively and violently seek out victims to bite. This is, of course, to ensure its own transmission. The other thing it's known for is hydrophobia, an irrational fear of water (which serves no purpose other than to weaken the infectee such that they will die sooner and infect fewer new victims).

** The Foundation has enough cognitohazards to have [[BrownNote/SCPFoundation an entire page of Brown Notes]], and many (though not all) of those are Mind Viruses.

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation has quite a few of these, which are classified under ''Memetic Hazards''. "Infohazards" and "cognitohazards" are similar; where one starts and one ends is very much a DependingOnTheWriter thing.

Compare with EarWorm, where it's a song that can't get out of your head; InfectiousInsanity, a trope where mental illnesses are treated like a Mind Virus; MemeticMutation, and BrownNote. Compare & contrast TheVirus, where a contagion acts as an intelligent, self-directed entity (adding to "itself", having a HiveMind, etc). See ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder, which is often--but not always--caused by one of these.

** [[According to one article, ''human sentience'' is a sentient and pandemic MindVirus, and as much as nobody wants to admit it in-universe, it's good that it is too or it would be wiped out by any number of things]].

* The Maverick Virus and it's upgraded verson the Zero Virus from ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' both infect Reploids and alter their programming, turning them into murderous psychopaths that still, for the most part, retain their memories and personality. The Sigma Virus, on the other hand, is a sentient entity that [[BodySurf takes over]] other Reploids and appropriates their bodies.

* Creator/GregBear's novel ''Vitals'' features bio-engineered viruses that manipulate their victims hormones and brain chemistry. Though the viruses themselves are undirected, the [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness evil government conspiracy]] will "dose" people with different strains of the virus, in combination with setting up fake evidence, in order to discredit anyone who threatens to expose the conspiracy. One character, an investigative author who starts getting too close to the truth, is infected with a compulsive anti-semitism virus that causes him to lose his reputation. Later on, another character is made to murder by use of a HatePlague. The main character is also infected with a kind of "love" virus that renders him dopey and lovey-dovey with respect to a woman who's an agent of the conspiracy.

* Creator/NeilGaiman's poem ''[[http://www.scribd.com/doc/7227151/Gaiman-Neil-Virus Virus]]'' is an example of this, spread via a computer game.

* ''Master of Space and Time'' by Rudy Rucker has a section where the heroes visit an alternate dimension full of "meme viruses". One of the characters is bitten by a "Jesus Lizard" and subsequently starts gaining [[MessianicArchetype messiah-like characteristics]], along with [[HippieJesus growing out his hair and beard and wearing sandals all the time]].

* ''Literature/SnowCrash'' features a "biolinguistic virus" that renders its victims unable to communicate normally; anytime they try to talk, they just speak gibberish.