Your political decisions may be the fault of a parasite in your brain

toxoplasma gondii this parasite is as intimidating as it is charming. He has the ability to turn his victims into puppets at his mercy, forcing them to act in the most beneficial way for his own benefit. This is very noticeable in animals such as jaguars or mice, but much less so in humans. However, according to a recent study, we may be affected by things we never imagined: Political ideology.

This study was carried out by scientists from Charles University in Prague and recently published in Evolutionary psychology. In it, its authors analyzed the political ideology and voting trends of 2,315 people with or without infection with the virus. toxoplasma gondii. So while there were some differences between men and women, overall they found a curious trend that infected people were more attracted to neo-nationalisms such as Donald Trump in the USA or Santiago Abascal in Spain.

The reasons are unclear, although the study authors suspect they may be related to inflammatory process. Logically, this does not invalidate anyone’s vote. However, this is an interesting piece of information worth emphasizing. At least add one more factor when studying the distribution of political votes in different territories.

“Toxoplasma gondii”, parasite of puppeteers

toxoplasma gondii this is parasitic protozoanknown to cause toxoplasmosis. This is a mild condition, although it can become much more serious and even fatal. cats and human fetuses. It is for this reason that it is important that pregnant women have tests to check if they have parasites in their bodies and, if not, avoid infection during pregnancy by limiting the intake of certain raw foods that may be contaminated.

In the case of cats, it turns out that they your favorite hosts. For this reason, although this parasite can infect many other species, it is looking for a way to get to them. And for this he controls the behavior of the animals he infects. For example, it was noticed that mice infected toxoplasma gondii lose all fear cats. Moreover, they are very attracted to their urine, so they become very easy prey. The same goes for chimpanzee stricken with a parasite for which the fragrance leopards it is pure poetry.

People usually have no symptoms, although some are thought to be compulsive behavior may be associated with infection. There have even been cases of psychotic breakdowns, apparently caused by toxoplasma gondii. But the truth is that it is believed that a third of the population suffers parasite, so the vast majority do not show symptoms. Now, perhaps, they are exhibiting in an unexpected place: at the polling stations.

On the other hand, it should be noted that previous studies have seen that people with toxoplasmosis, regardless of gender, score lower in terms of awareness and generosity.

Does this mean that all VOX voters in Spain have parasites controlling their brains? The truth is, no. A large number of factors play a very important role in political ideology and voting decisions. This would be only one of them, but it is worth taking into account if only out of curiosity.