Anodal tDCS over left M1, right M1 or SMA does not improve learning of a laparoscopic surgery task

Abstract

Expert proficiency and automaticity of technical skills in surgery are slow to develop and require extensive training, but nowadays dedicated time e38 Abstracts / Brain Stimulation 10 (2017) e21ee45 for technical skills training is constrained by financial and legislative barriers. Therefore, training interventions that help time-short surgical trainees to expedite technical skills training are desirable. Outside the surgical education domain, there is now sufficient evidence that it is possible to improve motor skills learning and subsequent performance by tDCS. Previous studies using fMRI and TMS have indicated the involvement of the left primary motor cortex area (left M1), right primary motor cortex (right M1), as well as the supplementary motor area (SMA), for a complex bimanual movement. Here we examined whether anodal tDCS over left M1, right M1, or SMA can improve learning of a bimanual peg transfer task on the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) simulation trainer. Participants practiced the peg transfer task for 10 blocks of 3 trials while receiving either of four stimulation protocols: anodal tDCS applied over left M1, anodal tDCS applied over right M1, anodal tDCS applied over SMA area, or sham tDCS. Participants performed 1 block of 3 trials on a second day as retention. The task completion time was recorded for each trial as performance measure. Although the task completion time significantly decreased across the training blocks in all groups, no significant difference between stimulation protocols was observed during both learning and retention, suggesting anodal tDCS over left M1, right M1, or SMA does not improve learning of the laparoscopic surgery task.