Brain scan may help career choice

© iStockphoto.com/Jan Rysavy

BRAIN scans may be able to help people choose their careers, scientists claim.

Researchers used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to study the brains of 40 volunteers seeking career guidance.

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.

The findings are published in the online journal BMC Research Notes.