How a brain scan could help you choose the perfect career?

Researchers used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to study the brains of 40 volunteers seeking career guidance. They then compared the results to see if there was a correlation between person's brain and their aptitude for different tasks.

The discovered that the amount of grey matter - the parts of the brain used for dealing with information - showed how good the volunteer was at tasks like remembering facst and arithmetic. And they found structure patterns that correlated with different kinds of ability, such as speed of reasoning, numerical skills, spatial awareness, and memory, as well as general intelligence. The results matched test scores from a battery of traditional mental tests.

Study leader Dr Richard Haier, from the University of California at Irvine, said: 'A person's pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses is related to their brain structure, so there is a possibility that brain scans could provide unique information that would be helpful for vocational choice.

'Our current results form a basis to investigate this further.'

The 40 participants had all consulted the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation, a non-profit organisation that provides psychometric assessments for vocational guidance.


/Daily Mail/