Individual differences in field independence influence the ability to determine accurate needle angles.

OBJECTIVE: "Field dependence" is used in cognitive psychology to describe an individual's tendency to be visually distracted by the surrounding environment. Notwithstanding the role of field dependence in contexts in which spatial judgment is important, such as piloting an aircraft, to date, studies linking field dependence to surgical skills have been limited. We evaluated whether field dependence correlates with an ability to anticipate appropriate needle angles in a simulated setting. METHODS: Trainees underwent field dependence testing and then participated in a surgical skills exercise. Correlations between field dependence and surgical skill were computed. Specifically, cardiothoracic surgery residents (n=11) took a battery of cognitive examinations to assess general reasoning and visuospatial judgment. Two written tests, the Rod and Frame test and the Judgment of Line Orientation test, measured the degree of field dependence. The subjects then underwent surgical skills testing. Using a standard needle driver, the participants placed curved needles into a cylindrical silicone mitral valve model with 10 premarked needle entry and exit sites. The components assessed included the ability to load a needle on driver at the appropriate angle. RESULTS: The test results showed a parametric distribution, with internal cognitive testing controls demonstrating valid testing techniques and methods. Performance on the cognitive tests measuring spatial judgment and field dependence correlated significantly with skill at determining the appropriate needle angle load in an inverse fashion (Judgment of Line Orientation test, r=0.61, P<.05; Rod and Frame test, r=-0.52, P=.05), suggesting that residents who were not distracted by surrounding objects performed better. Performance on the cognitive examinations did not correlate with resident training level. CONCLUSIONS: Although our study was of a small cohort, the findings suggest that individuals described as field independent (not easily distracted by external visual cues) might possess improved ability to determine appropriate needle angle loads compared with field-dependent individuals. Additional studies examining the role field dependence might play in the acquisition and execution of surgical tasks are warranted.

Different clues from different views: the role of image format in public perceptions of neuroimaging results.

We examined whether different types of brain images affect readers' evaluations of scientific reports. Five different brain images were selected from the neuroscience literature: a whole brain, an inflated brain, a cross-sectional brain slice, a glass brain, and a topographic map. First, the images were subjectively rated by 31 nonexperts for qualities associated with realism and perceived complexity. Each of the five images was later presented alongside one of five fictitious neuroscience articles (image-text pairings counterbalanced), and a different group of 122 novices rated the accompanying articles for scientific reasoning. They also separately reported their familiarity with each image type. Brain images previously rated as more three-dimensional produced more positive evaluations of the articles with which they were presented. Perceived image complexity also showed a marginal nonlinear relationship with article credibility ratings. Our findings suggest that choice of image format matters when disseminating neuroscience research to the general public.

Spatial cognition through the keyhole: how studying a real-world domain can inform basic science--and vice versa.

This paper discusses spatial cognition in the domain of minimally invasive surgery. It draws on studies from this domain to shed light on a range of spatial cognitive processes and to consider individual differences in performance. In relation to modeling, the aim is to identify potential opportunities for characterizing the complex interplay between perception, action, and cognition, and to consider how theoretical models of the relevant processes might prove valuable for addressing applied questions about surgical performance and training.

Spatial reasoning with external visualizations: what matters is what you see, not whether you interact.

Three experiments examined the effects of interactive visualizations and spatial abilities on a task requiring participants to infer and draw cross sections of a three-dimensional (3D) object. The experiments manipulated whether participants could interactively control a virtual 3D visualization of the object while performing the task, and compared participants who were allowed interactive control of the visualization to those who were not allowed control. In Experiment 1, interactivity produced better performance than passive viewing, but the advantage of interactivity disappeared in Experiment 2 when visual input for the two conditions in a yoked design was equalized. In Experiments 2 and 3, differences in how interactive participants manipulated the visualization were large and related to performance. In Experiment 3, non-interactive participants who watched optimal movements of the display performed as well as interactive participants who manipulated the visualization effectively and better than interactive participants who manipulated the visualization ineffectively. Spatial ability made an independent contribution to performance on the spatial reasoning task, but did not predict patterns of interactive behavior. These experiments indicate that providing participants with active control of a computer visualization does not necessarily enhance task performance, whereas seeing the most task-relevant information does, and this is true regardless of whether the task-relevant information is obtained actively or passively.

Modulation of neural activity by angle of rotation during imagined spatial transformations.

Imagined spatial transformations of objects (e.g., mental rotation) and the self (e.g., perspective taking) are psychologically dissociable. In mental rotation, the viewer transforms the location or orientation of an object relative to stable egocentric and environmental reference frames. In imagined shifts of perspective, the viewer's egocentric reference frame is transformed with respect to stable objects and environment. Using fMRI, we showed that during mental transformations of objects the right superior parietal cortex exhibited a positive linear relationship between hemodynamic response and degrees of rotation. By contrast, during imagined transformations of the self, the same regions exhibited a negative linear trend. We interpret this finding in terms of the role of parietal cortex in coding the locations of objects in relation to the body.

Spatial ability, experience, and skill in laparoscopic surgery.

BACKGROUND: Previous research showing correlations between spatial ability and surgical skills has used participants in relatively early stages of training. Research in skill acquisition has shown that the role of cognitive abilities can diminish as skills become increasingly automatic. In this study, we explored the role of spatial ability in laparoscopic surgical skills in two groups, one experienced and the other relatively inexperienced. METHODS: Subjects were recruited from two videoscopic courses: an advanced course for experienced surgeons and a laparoscopic urological surgery course attended by participants with relatively little laparoscopic experience. Three measures were obtained: spatial abilities, videoscopic experience, and operative skills. RESULTS: A significant correlation (r = 0.393) was found between spatial ability and skills in the lower experience group but not among the experienced surgeons (r = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: The results are consistent with the prediction that the importance of spatial ability in performance of laparoscopic skills should diminish with experience.