When professionals are promoted to managerial roles, they may not only gain a larger salary, but a bigger brain as well.

These are the findings of a new study that was conducted by researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia. To arrive at these results, the researchers analyzed brain scans from a cohort of individuals 75 to 92 years of age. They identified a clear connection between the amount of managerial experience the study participants had gained and the size of their hippocampus, which is the part of the brain that is responsible for learning and memory.

The researchers believe that managing others can spur changes to the brain that preserve these individuals' learning centers as they get older, particularly when compared to those who have no experience overseeing workers.

"This could be linked to the unique mental demands of managing people, which requires continuous problem solving, short term memory and a lot of emotional intelligence, such as the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes," said Michael Valenzuela, the leader of regenerative neuroscience at the University's School of Psychiatry.

Managers who are curious to see how their profession has influenced their intelligence may want to consider taking an IQ test.