Estimation of vocational aptitudes using functional brain networks

Abstract

The success of human life in modern society is highly dependent on occupation. Therefore, it is very important for people to identify and develop a career plan that best suits their aptitude. Traditional test batteries for vocational aptitudes are not oriented to measure developmental changes in job suitability because repeated measurements can introduce bias as the content of the test batteries is learned. In this study, we attempted to objectively assess vocational aptitudes by measuring functional brain networks and identified functional brain networks that intrinsically represented vocational aptitudes for 19 job divisions in a General Aptitude Test Battery. In addition, we derived classifiers based on these networks to predict the aptitudes of our test participants for each job division. Our results suggest that the measurement of brain function can indeed yield an objective evaluation of vocational aptitudes; this technique will enable a person to follow changes in one's job suitability with additional training or learning, paving a new way to advise people on career development.

Selected Topics Relating to Functional MRI Study of the Brain

“…34 One example we have been working on is to find biomarkers of various capabilities expressed in brain networks for vocational aptitude tests. 35 We hope that these biomarkers will be useful for students to investigate their vocational fitness in various aptitude categories. The algorithm to identify such neural networks, which comprises 19 General Aptitude Test battery categories, is shown in Fig.…”

“…6. 35 Three lines of information were gathered and are indicated in Fig. 6A as lines (I), (II), and (III).…”