And if the business sense was linked to a parasite?

Success in business, audacity and taste of risk could be linked to the presence in the body of the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis, suggests a study published Wednesday in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B .

The name of the culprit? The protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that spreads mainly through the consumption of undercooked meat or water that has been in contact with soils contaminated with cat excrement.

Touching more than two billion people, this parasite could have the faculty, through the hormonal and neurological changes inherent in its presence in the body, to amplify "impulsivity", "ambition" and "the search for material goods", "characteristics badociated with entrepreneurial activity ", Explains the study, conducted by researchers from English universities (Leeds), American (Boulder), German (Frankfurt), Spanish (Bilbao), Norwegian (Bodo) and Hong Kong.

A parasite that alters Human Behavior

Analysis of salivary test results from nearly 1,500 American students found that protozoan carriers were 1.7 times' more inclined to show an interest in entrepreneurship and management.

Other tests conducted with professionals attending meetings related to the business world have shown that people positive for Toxoplasma gondii were more likely to have started their own business.

By synthesizing data from 42 countries, researchers also found that prevalence of infection was an indicator of "entrepreneurial activity and intent." The "fear of failure" also seems weakest where the parasite is most present, they say.

These results highlight a "link between parasite infection and complex human behavior, including (…) entrepreneurship and economic productivity. "

The researchers point out that other studies have previously highlighted the ability of the parasite to modify the behavior of non-human hosts to be able to reproduce more easily

Toxoplasma gondii in fact infects many species but can only reproduce in felines and thus cause its hosts to adopt risky behaviors, for example by making the smell of urine of chimpanzees attractive to chimpanzees. leopard, their natural predator, an hypothesis explored in 2016 by researchers at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)