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PETER KOTECKI
Last Updated 15:38, 26 July 2018
and John Murray / Wikimedia Commons
Humans may be infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii if they come into contact with cat feces or contaminated products.
Stefanie Johnson, lead author of the study and Associate Professor of Management at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said the results indicate a positive correlation between l & # 3939; exposure to T. gondii and entrepreneurial behavior. Johnson and his fellow researchers also found that countries with higher parasite prevalence had a lower proportion of people who cited "fear of failure" as the reason they were discouraged from starting a business. .
We do not know if companies created by positive individuals at T.gondii are more likely to succeed or fail in the long run, said Johnson in a press release. "New businesses have high failure rates, so the fear of failure is quite rational. Grondii might just reduce this rational fear."
The researchers point out that most research into Economics have relied on rationality as an explanation for human behavior, but biological factors such as parasites have rarely been studied in relation to business choices.They suggest that behavior-altering infections such as toxoplasmosis could influence intakes. of Human Decision.
Infection Models in Students and Professionals
The Johnson team selected 1495 undergraduate students in biology and business, anti-gondii antibodies. In the group, 22 percent were tested positive
The results of the antibody test were then badyzed against the principal of each student. Those who specialize in business, the Johnson team also compared students in the management and entrepreneurship stream with other specializations such as accounting and finance.
123RF.COM [19659005] The parasite found in poo cat was found to influence human behavior before.
Results indicated that students who tested positive for T. gondii were 1.4 times more likely to be a major business than those who were not infected. Among the majors of the business, positive students were 1.7 times more likely to focus on management and entrepreneurship.
The Johnson team also took saliva samples from 197 people who attended entrepreneurial events. Business. Scientists found that participants who were parasite positive were 1.8 times more likely to have started a business.
The researchers then tried to test the links between T. gondii and entrepreneurship at the global level. They compiled data on the prevalence of infection in 42 countries and compared them to national surveys of business activities and attitudes. The researchers found a positive correlation between the presence of toxoplasmosis in a population and the proportion of people who reported having plans to start their own business or engaged in entrepreneurial activity.
Meanwhile, there is a negative correlation between the prevalence of toxoplasmosis and the percentage of people who said they were discouraged from starting a business for fear of failure.
Johnson said NBC News that his team plans to continue this research, and to examine a possible link between toxoplasmosis and subsequent conservatism. Johnson said that she also wants to test whether successful entrepreneurs are more likely to have been infected with the parasite.
"What if all the companies started by toxoplasmosis positive people failed, and if that fear was a good thing?" It is known that the parasite influences human behavior before 1945.
It is estimated that More than 2 billion people, including 60 million in the United States, are infected with gondii, although very few show symptoms. According to the CDC, some people with toxoplasmosis may experience flu-like symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes or muscle aches. Severe toxoplasmosis can include brain and eye damage, such as reduced or blurred vision.
It is still unclear exactly how toxoplasmosis influences human behavior. But previous studies of populations with varying rates of toxoplasmosis have badociated higher rates of infection with greater economic prosperity and higher levels of neurosis.
Small studies conducted in the Czech Republic and Turkey also showed car accidents
A 2012 study badyzed decades of women's health records in Denmark to study the link between toxoplasmosis and mental illness. The results suggested that women who tested positive for the parasite had a higher rate of suicide attempts. The probability that an infected woman is trying to commit suicide in a given year was 1.5 times higher than among uninfected women.
Teodor Postolache, the lead author of this study, told NPR in 2012 that the parasite could interfere with the prefrontal cortex.
"This area is like a braking mechanism, as if it was a brake in a car," said Postolache. "What we think is that it's possible that the parasite, in fact, interferes with the ability of the prefrontal cortex to apply brakes."
This story was originally published on Business Insider . ] – BusinessInsider.com.au
