Teaching Neuroanatomy Virtually: Integrating an Interactive 3D E-Learning Resource for Enhanced Neuroanatomy Education

An interactive 3D e-learning module was developed to complement neuroanatomy instruction in both an undergraduate medicine neuroanatomy laboratory course, and an undergraduate systemic human anatomy course. The 3D e-learning resource provided students the opportunity to manipulate a dynamic 3D model to view structures from any desired angle, view deep cortical structures at high magnification, and add interactive structural labels. The study utilized a cross-over design, to separate participants into two groups. Each group completed baseline anatomy knowledge and spatial ability knowledge assessments, followed by access to either the 3D e-learning module or conventional learning resources. Participants completed a post-module anatomy knowledge assessment prior to accessing to the other learning modality. A final post-module knowledge assessment was administered following student exposure to the second learning modality. Students who initially accessed the 3D module scored significantly higher on the post-module knowledge assessment than the students who initially accessed the conventional anatomy resources. Participants who accessed the 3D learning resources following gross anatomy resources, significantly improved on the final post-module knowledge assessment. A negative correlation was observed between spatial ability and change in assessment score following access to the 3D module suggesting that students with low spatial ability experienced a greater positive effect on their learning of neuroanatomy following the use of the 3D learning module than students with higher spatial ability. A novel virtual syncretion assessment was also developed that assessed participants’ ability to place neuroanatomical structures in a partial 3D neuroanatomical model, rather than a conventional nominal response. Participants who initially utilized the 3D e-learning resource performed significantly better on the virtual syncretion assessment than participants who initially utilized the 2D e-learning resource. Participants who accessed the 3D e-learning resource subsequent to the 2D e-learning resource significantly improved their performance on the final virtual syncretion assessment. Results of this study could be used to inform the effective development and implementation of 3D e-learning resources to improve neuroanatomy instruction, particularly for students with low spatial ability

Understanding neuroanatomy in a virtual 3D environment: creation and use of a new survey tool to evaluate the effectiveness of 3D software in neuroanatomy education for understanding superficial and deep brain structures.

Studying cross-sections is a critical approach to learning and testing knowledge in neuroanatomy and the role of 3D technologies have been gradually increasing in medical education, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. A study was conducted in a quasi-experimental one-group pre-post interventional design in an online setting by creating and evaluating the effectiveness of a virtual lab in neuroanatomy for all neuroscience students enrolled in the Fundamentals of Neuroscience course in our department at the University of Louisville. Study modules were created using the 2D resources used in previous years and 3D web applications of Visible Body and AnatomyLearning.com software. A newly developed 13-item Reaction-Relevance-Result survey measured the effectiveness of these resources, along with Confidence in topics surveys and test results. Results of the study confirmed the advantages of using 3D software for neuroanatomy, with mostly large effect sizes for the pre-post effects. The study also sheds some light on the social need and justice regarding the utility of 3D intervention to bring equitable learning among all genders and academic levels without any effects of earlier performances. The study also uncovered some bias in student perception of the advantages of 3D software for students with any previous neuroanatomy experience. 3D software increased understanding of superficial and deep structures but was more beneficial for deeper structures, thus bridging the difficulty gap between superficial and deep structures, male students being more successful in narrowing this difficulty gap

Mobile technology: students perceived benefits of apps for learning neuroanatomy

Technology enhanced learning is expanding rapidly, due to research showing the benefits for learners in terms of engagement, convenience, attainment and enjoyment. Mobile learning approaches are also gaining in popularity, particularly during practical classes and clinical settings. However, there are few systematic studies evaluating the impact of tablet devices on students’ learning in practical settings. The main aim of this three-year study was to gather rigorous evidence about students’ use of apps on a pre-configured tablet device in a neuroanatomy practical class, their perceptions of this and the impact of the intervention on learning outcomes, using data collected from three cohorts of students between 2011 and 2013. Results showed that students made extensive use of resources provided, and considered the devices to be beneficial for learning, and found them to be easy to use with minimal support and training. Students’ ownership of touch screen devices increased significantly during the trial period as did their use of devices for academic study. Analysis of examination scores showed a statistically significant increase in performance for neuroanatomy related questions after the introduction of tablet devices

3D Anatomy Models and Impact on Learning: A Review of the Quality of the Literature

AbstractBackgroundThe aims of this study were to identify studies exploring three-dimensional (3D) anatomy models and their impact on learning, and to assess the quality of research in this area.MethodsPubMed, EMBASE, and the Web of Knowledge databases were searched using the following keywords "3D anatomy", "three dimensional anatomy," "3D virtual reality anatomy," "3D VR anatomy," "3D anatomy model, “3D anatomy teaching", and “anatomy learning VR” . Three evaluators independently assessed the quality of research using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI).ResultsOf the 94,616 studies identified initially, 30 studies reported data on the impact of using 3D anatomy models on learning. The majority were of moderate quality with a mean MERSQI score=10.26 (SD 2.14, range 6.0–13.5). The rater intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.79 (95% confidence interval 0.75–0.88). Most studies were from North America (53%), and Europe (33%) and the majority were from medical (73%) and Dental (17%) schools.ConclusionsThere was no solid evidence that the use of 3D models is superior to traditional teaching. However, the studies varied in research quality. More studies are needed to examine the short- and long-term impacts of 3D models on learning using valid and appropriate tools

Assessment of a novel computer aided learning tool in neuroanatomy education

Impaired understanding of intricate neuroanatomical concepts and structural inter-relationships has been associated with a fear of managing neurology patients, called neurophobia, among medical trainees. As technology advances, the role of e-learning pedagogies becomes more important to supplement the traditional dissection / prosection and lecture-based pedagogies for teaching neuroanatomy to undergraduate students. However, despite the availability of a myriad of e-learning resources, the neuro (-anatomy-) phobia – neurophobia nexus prevails. The focus of the PhD was to investigate the difficulties associated with learning neuroanatomy and to develop and assess the efficacy of a novel e-learning tool for teaching neuroanatomy, in the context of the strengths and pitfalls of the currently available e-learning resources. Firstly, we sought to provide direct evidence of the medical and health science students’ perception regarding specific challenges associated with learning neuroanatomy. The initial results showed that neuroanatomy is perceived as a more difficult subject compared to other anatomy topics, with spinal pathways being the most challenging to learn. Participants believed that computer assisted learning and online resources could enhance neuroanatomy understanding and decrease their neurophobia. Next, in the context of the significance of e-learning for supplementing traditional pedagogies, we identified features of neuroanatomy web-resources that were valued by students and educators with regards to learning neuroanatomy of the spinal pathways. Participants identified strengths and weaknesses of existing neuroanatomy web-resources and ranked one resource above the others in terms of information delivery and integration of clinical, physiological and medical imaging correlates. This provides a novel user perspective on the influence of specific elements of neuroanatomy web-resources to improve instructional design and enhance learner performance. Finally, considering the data acquired from students and educators, a novel, interactive, neuroanatomy learning e-resource was developed to support teaching of the neuroanatomy of the spinal pathways. The instructional design included a discussion of the clinical interpretation of basic neuroanatomical facts to aid in neurological localization. The e-learning tool was assessed and evaluated by undergraduate medical and neuroscience students using neuroanatomy knowledge quizzes and Likert-scale perception questionnaires and compared to the previously identified best-ranked neuroanatomy e-resource. Participants’ opinion regarding the usefulness of various components of the tools was also gauged. The results showed that usage of the UCC e-resource led to a significant increase in participants’ knowledge of the neuroanatomy of the spinal pathways compared to students’ who did not use e-resources. Moreover, the participants reported a greater interest in learning neuroanatomy with the novel tool, showing a greater appreciation for it while learning clinical neurological correlates compared to those using the best available e-resource identified earlier. In summary, the prevailing problem of neurophobia could be addressed by enhancing student-interest. Technological e-learning pedagogies, with intelligently designed interactive user-interface and clinical correlation of basic neuroanatomical facts can play a pivotal role in helping students learn neuroanatomy and breaking the nexus between neuro (-anatomy-) phobia and neurophobia

Online Learning Modules in Anatomical Sciences: Effective Sources for Continued Learning for Medical Undergraduates During the Unprecedent COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction. During the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown, the selection of simple and authentic online material among plethora of web content is difficult for both students and teachers. This forces students and teachers to explore various avenues of learning. The objective of this research was to evaluate free open-access anatomy e-learning resources in accordance with required standard learning outcomes for medical students. Methods. During February 2021, an extensive search for online modules for learning anatomy across six Massive Open Online Courses, including edX, Coursera, Udemy, Khan Academy, Canvas and FutureLearn, along with Google and YouTube was conducted. Courses or modules on e-learning platforms, YouTube channels, standalone videos, anatomy atlases, 3D models were considered as learning resources and evaluated. Online materials were classified as structured learning resources if they had a defined syllabus, time duration and instructional design. Resources lacking these characteristics were considered as unstructured ones. Results. Twenty structured learning courses were identified on the Udemy (6 courses), Coursera (3 courses), edX (2 courses), FutureLearn and Khan academy platforms. Learning resources available through Swayam Prabha were aligned with the defined syllabus and video lectures. The content hosted within Clinical Anatomy, Medvizz and Kenhub was eye-catching. Thirty-two YouTube channels offering standalone learning material were identified. Seven resource materials, other than YouTube channels, offered anatomy learning material in the form of charts and tables. Four websites noted to have 3D interactive learning content regarding gross anatomy. Conclusions. During the pandemic-induced lockdown, the list presented in the study may act as guide in selection of the simplest and best materials for those teaching and learning anatomy in medical undergraduate courses. However, in most cases, there is no alignment with standard learning outcomes as defined by medical education regulatory authorities

Neuroanatomy of the spinal pathways: evaluation of an interactive multimedia e-learning resource

Introduction: A diminished number of young doctors opt for specialty neurology training and show reduced confidence in managing neurology patients and interlink difficulties in managing neurology patients with impaired understanding of neuroanatomy and associated clinical correlates. Aim: To evaluate an interactive e-resource for the neuroanatomy of the spinal pathways based on cognitive theories of multimedia learning in aiding medical students learn neuroanatomy. Methods: Using a single-blinded controlled experimental design, knowledge of the spinal pathways was assessed prior and after usage of the novel e-resource compared to control web resource. The perceived usefulness of the tool used was gauged using Likert-scale questionnaires. Results: Performance in the second assessment improved for all users but the learning gain of participants in the experimental groups was higher compared to participants who did not use e-resources. Likert-scale ratings revealed a significantly higher appreciation for the novel tool compared to the control tool when learning clinical correlates. Conclusions: Stronger correlations between the studentsâ perception of the tool used and their second assessment scores suggest that students favored the instructional design of the novel e-tool which shows promising results in bridging the gap between neuroanatomy knowledge and its clinical application

The Foundational Model of Anatomy Ontology

Anatomy is the structure of biological organisms. The term also denotes the scientific discipline devoted to the study of anatomical entities and the structural and developmental relations that obtain among these entities during the lifespan of an organism. Anatomical entities are the independent continuants of biomedical reality on which physiological and disease processes depend, and which, in response to etiological agents, can transform themselves into pathological entities. For these reasons, hard copy and in silico information resources in virtually all fields of biology and medicine, as a rule, make extensive reference to anatomical entities. Because of the lack of a generalizable, computable representation of anatomy, developers of computable terminologies and ontologies in clinical medicine and biomedical research represented anatomy from their own more or less divergent viewpoints. The resulting heterogeneity presents a formidable impediment to correlating human anatomy not only across computational resources but also with the anatomy of model organisms used in biomedical experimentation. The Foundational Model of Anatomy (FMA) is being developed to fill the need for a generalizable anatomy ontology, which can be used and adapted by any computer-based application that requires anatomical information. Moreover it is evolving into a standard reference for divergent views of anatomy and a template for representing the anatomy of animals. A distinction is made between the FMA ontology as a theory of anatomy and the implementation of this theory as the FMA artifact. In either sense of the term, the FMA is a spatial-structural ontology of the entities and relations which together form the phenotypic structure of the human organism at all biologically salient levels of granularity. Making use of explicit ontological principles and sound methods, it is designed to be understandable by human beings and navigable by computers. The FMA’s ontological structure provides for machine-based inference, enabling powerful computational tools of the future to reason with biomedical data

Teaching with Big Data: Report from the 2016 Society for Neuroscience Teaching Workshop

As part of a series of workshops on teaching neuroscience at the Society for Neuroscience annual meetings, William Grisham and Richard Olivo organized the 2016 workshop on Teaching Neuroscience with Big Data. This article presents a summary of that workshop. Speakers provided overviews of open datasets that could be used in teaching undergraduate courses. These included resources that already appear in educational settings, including the Allen Brain Atlas (presented by Joshua Brumberg and Terri Gilbert), and the Mouse Brain Library and GeneNetwork (presented by Robert Williams). Other resources, such as NeuroData (presented by William R. Gray Roncal), and OpenFMRI, NeuroVault, and Neurosynth (presented by Russell Poldrack) have not been broadly utilized by the neuroscience education community but offer obvious potential. Finally, William Grisham discussed the iNeuro Project, an NSF-sponsored effort to develop the necessary curriculum for preparing students to handle Big Data. Linda Lanyon further elaborated on the current state and challenges in educating students to deal with Big Data and described some training resources provided by the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility. Neuroinformatics is a subfield of neuroscience that deals with data utilizing analytical tools and computational models. The feasibility of offering neuroinformatics programs at primarily undergraduate institutions was also discussed