TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE
Brain activation during laparoscopic tasks in high- and low-performing medical students
Published on
November 21, 2019
Surgical Endoscopy
Overview
This study aimed to examine the differences in neurological functioning during laparoscopic tasks between high-performing and low-performing medical students using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Up to 20% of medical students struggle to reach competency in laparoscopic surgery, and it is unknown whether these difficulties arise from individual differences in neurological functioning. The researchers conducted a prospective cohort study, enrolling medical students who were in the top 20% and bottom 20% of laparoscopic performers from a previous study. Participants performed various laparoscopic tasks while their brain activation was recorded using fMRI, and the activation maps were compared between the high and low performer groups.
Results
The study found that high performers completed intracorporeal knot tying tasks faster and with more successful knot ties compared to low performers. Additionally, low performers showed more brain activation than high performers during the peg-pointing task, but there were no differences in brain activation between the groups for the intracorporeal knot tying task. There were also no behavioral differences between the groups in the Pictorial Surface Orientation test. This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of using fMRI to examine differences in laparoscopic surgical skills at the brain level, and the authors suggest that future studies are needed to further explore these initial findings.
