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It could affect chemicals carrying messages in the brain called neurotransmitters, or hormones such as testosterone, they wrote.
In particular, scientists have studied whether the parasite could increase risk-taking behavior. An badociate professor of management at the University of Colorado, she has often spoken to her students about the peculiar effects of the parasite, which spreads in the rodents' brains and causes them to lose their innate fear of the smell of the parasite. 39; cat urine
the body, which breeds in the bodies of cats. Cats are more likely to eat infected mice without fear, thus helping the parasite in its life cycle.
People can catch it by handling newly infected cat droppings, but most people catch the parasite by eating undercooked meat,
Pregnant women are asked to stay away from the feces of cats in litter boxes and raw meat because the parasite can cause miscarriages and conbad malformations.
Most people do not even know that they have been infected, says the CDC. "More than 30 million men, women and children in the United States carry the toxoplasma parasite, but very few have symptoms because the immune system usually prevents the parasite from causing the disease," says he on his website.
to tell his students the links between toxoplasm and neurotic behavior.
"It's crazy that if you're infected with this parasite, you could become neurotic and nobody wants to become neurotic," she told NBC News. "I always talk about it, and one day, I was talking about my study to my husband and he said," I'm doing all the time lectures on this same study.
Johnson's husband, Pieter Johnson, teaches biology at the university
"So we thought we should form a collaboration because biologists and business professors often have the It's an opportunity to work together, "explains Stefanie Johnson. ]
They set up a study to test students and people attending seminars on entrepreneurship.
"We thought that if all this were true, maybe he predicted this risky behavior? says:
"It's never a good idea to become an entrepreneur because the risks outweigh the rewards." Very few are successful. "
They gave a saliva test for antibodies anti-toxoplasms to nearly 1500 students and nearly 200 people attending seminars on how to start their own business. to T. gondii, which means that they were infected at some point.
Students who were infected were 1.4 times more likely to be business majors and 1.7% more likely to focus on "management and". entrepreneurship. "
Among those taking part in seminars on entrepreneurship, infected people were 1.8 times more likely to have started their own business.
Johnson said his team would continue to test the links. "Our next research is conservatism, if toxoplasmosis affects conservatism," she said.
She would also like to check if successful entrepreneurs are more or less likely to have been infected. "So what if all the companies started by toxoplasmosis positive people fail – and if that fear was a good thing? We want to know."
Johnson says she's n & # 39; Is not infected, even if she has two cats. "I had, like, four cats growing up, I'm sure I would have it," she said, but that makes sense, she added.
"Being Professor is literally the most risky job you can do, "she said.
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