The Co-Pilot in the Head - How a Parasite Turns People into Young Entrepreneurs

Toxoplasma gondii makes people more risk-averse in professional life

An astounding result: According to an American study, the widespread toxoplasma gondii parasite in cats is said to make people more risk-averse in their working lives and more often to have their own company. The explanation behind these altered behaviors is as disturbing as it is intriguing: Apparently, the parasite influences its host's choices and encourages them to take on more risky behavior.

Infection with the world wide-spread cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii could increase the likelihood for the human host to pursue entrepreneurial activity and start his own business. This is the result of a recent study by the University of Colorado recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study results suggest that the parasite is able to influence human behavior.

Around two billion people carry the cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii. According to a recent study, the pathogen should be able to manipulate human behavior and make the host more impulsive and more risk-averse. (Image: Kateryna_Kon / fotolia.com)

From the risk-taking mouse to a young entrepreneur

In mice, the behavioral altering effect of the cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii has already been reported. When the parasite infects a mouse, it subsequently changed its behavior. It makes you more risk-averse and thus increases the risk of being eaten by a cat. This is in keeping with the parasite that the cat needs to reproduce. The current study suggests that these risk-increasing effects can also occur in humans.

Cat parasite promotes entrepreneurial action

A research team from the University of Colorado found that people infected with the common parasite Toxoplasma gondii are up to 1.8 times more likely to own a business than people without the parasite. Statistics from 42 countries with data from the last 25 years were taken into account. The researchers consistently recognized the infection prevalence of the parasite as a positive factor for entrepreneurial action.

About 30 percent of the world population affected

The parasite is anything but a rare guest in humans. Toxoplasma gondii multiplies in wild and domestic cats and can be transmitted to humans via these. The University of Colorado estimates that 2 billion people worldwide are infected. The consequences of such toxoplasmosis are still largely unknown. Other studies have already reported the effects of the agent on the human organism. So the infectious disease should have a negative impact on the health of newborns. Furthermore, multiple long-term consequences in the brain of older people are often suspected.

Toxoplasma gondii promotes impulsive behavior

As the research team from Colorado reported, the occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii is associated with an increased impulsive behavior of the host. Thus, among the human hosts would be an increased risk of car accidents, frenzy, mental illness, neuroticism, drug abuse and suicide. Another study reports that cat owners have an increased likelihood of aggression and irascibility due to the parasite.

A hidden mastermind of human behavior?

The study's scientists highlight the hidden, as yet unexplored, role that transmissible microbes could have on human behavior. If these assumptions are true, it is an influence on human decision-making of unprecedented proportions.

The co-pilot in the brain

"As humans, we like to think that we are in control of our actions," reports Pieter Johnson, co-author of the study and professor at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, in a press release on the study's findings. However, emerging research would show more and more clearly that the microorganisms we encounter in our daily lives have the potential to significantly affect their hosts.

Numerous examples from nature

As the professor reports, there are numerous examples in nature for such parasite interactions. The fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, for example, takes over the brains of ants, which then show a self-destructive behavior to promote the fungus. Also in humans there are other examples. According to Johnson, human intestinal microbes can affect the mood and immune system of the host.

Greater risk-taking does not mean greater success

The researchers warn, however, that greater risk-taking in working life does not necessarily translate into greater success. Just because statistically more people with toxoplasmosis start a company, that does not have to be successful. "We do not know if the companies started by Toxoplasma gondii positive individuals will be successful or fail in the long term," said lead author Professor Stefanie K. Johnson. New companies have a high default rate, so the fear of failure is quite rational. Toxoplasma gondii can reduce this rational anxiety. (Vb)