The effects of unilateral transcranial direct current stimulation on unimanual laparoscopic peg-transfer task
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Hadi, Zaeem
Umbreen, Aysha
Anwar, Muhammad Nabeel
Navid, Muhammad Samran
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Introduction
Efficient training methods are required for laparoscopic surgical skills training to reduce the time needed for proficiency. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is widely used to enhance motor skill acquisition and can be used to supplement the training of laparoscopic surgical skill acquisition. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of anodal tDCS over the primary motor cortex (M1) on the performance of a unimanual variant of the laparoscopic peg-transfer task.
Methods
Fifteen healthy subjects participated in this randomized, double-blinded crossover study involving an anodal tDCS and a sham tDCS intervention separated by 48 h. On each intervention day, subjects performed a unimanual variant of laparoscopic peg-transfer task in three sessions (baseline, tDCS, post-tDCS). The tDCS session consisted of 10 min of offline tDCS followed by 10 min of online tDCS. The scores based on the task completion time and the number of errors in each session were used as a primary outcome measure. A linear mixed-effects model was used for the analysis.
Results
We found that the scores increased over sessions (p < 0.01). However, we found no effects of stimulation (anodal tDCS vs. sham tDCS) and no interaction of stimulation and sessions.
Conclusion
This study suggests that irrespective of the type of current stimulation (anodal and sham) over M1, there was an improvement in the performance of the unimanual peg-transfer task, implying that there was motor learning over time. The results would be useful in designing efficient training paradigms and further investigating the effects of tDCS on laparoscopic peg-transfer tasks.
Efficient training methods are required for laparoscopic surgical skills training to reduce the time needed for proficiency. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is widely used to enhance motor skill acquisition and can be used to supplement the training of laparoscopic surgical skill acquisition. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of anodal tDCS over the primary motor cortex (M1) on the performance of a unimanual variant of the laparoscopic peg-transfer task.
Methods
Fifteen healthy subjects participated in this randomized, double-blinded crossover study involving an anodal tDCS and a sham tDCS intervention separated by 48 h. On each intervention day, subjects performed a unimanual variant of laparoscopic peg-transfer task in three sessions (baseline, tDCS, post-tDCS). The tDCS session consisted of 10 min of offline tDCS followed by 10 min of online tDCS. The scores based on the task completion time and the number of errors in each session were used as a primary outcome measure. A linear mixed-effects model was used for the analysis.
Results
We found that the scores increased over sessions (p < 0.01). However, we found no effects of stimulation (anodal tDCS vs. sham tDCS) and no interaction of stimulation and sessions.
Conclusion
This study suggests that irrespective of the type of current stimulation (anodal and sham) over M1, there was an improvement in the performance of the unimanual peg-transfer task, implying that there was motor learning over time. The results would be useful in designing efficient training paradigms and further investigating the effects of tDCS on laparoscopic peg-transfer tasks.
Date Issued
2021-11-15
Date Acceptance
2021-09-03
Citation
Brain Research, 2021, 1771
ISSN
0006-8993
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Brain Research
Volume
1771
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147656
Subjects
Neurology & Neurosurgery
1109 Neurosciences
1701 Psychology
1702 Cognitive Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 147656
Date Publish Online
2021-09-08