Parasite in brain may be the secret to success

A single-celled parasite that worms its way into the brain may be the secret driving force behind entrepreneurs around the world, research suggests.

The discovery suggests there may be a bizarre advantage to being infected by the organism, Toxoplasma gondii.

The protozoan parasite, which is spread by cats, is known to invade the brain and may cause personality changes associated with risk-taking.

While rarely producing symptoms other than a mild flu-like illness, T. gondii infection has been linked to car accidents, neuroticism and suicide.

The latest research provides new evidence that it also drives risk-taking in business. Part of the study found that professionals attending business events were almost twice as likely to have started their own enterprise if they were T. gondii positive.

Dr Stefanie Johnson, from the University of Colorado, said: “Populations with higher T. gondii infection had greater intentions to start a business and higher levels of active entrepreneurship behaviours. Countries with higher T. gondii prevalence generally had a lower fraction of respondents who cited ‘fear of failure’ as a factor preventing them from initiating a business.”