Effect of Music on Surgical Performance During Artificial Intelligence-Based Simulation Training

Plain-language summary

At the Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre, we seek to provide surgical trainees with innovative technologies that allow them to improve their surgical technical skills in risk-free environments, potentially improving patient operative outcomes. The Intelligent Continuous Expertise Monitoring System (ICEMS), a deep learning application that assesses and trains neurosurgical technical skill and provides continuous intraoperative feedback, is one such technology that may improve surgical education. Previous research has found that music can impact cognitive performance and learning outcomes. However, the effects of music on neurosurgical simulation performance-along with the associated affective-cognitive responses-remain largely unexplored. In this randomized controlled trial, medical students from four Quebec universities will be blinded and randomized to one of two groups. The control group will undergo a simulation training session without music, while the intervention arm will listen to a Mozart piano sonata during their session. The aim of this study is to determine how listening to Mozart music during surgical simulation training influences learner technical skill acquisition and transfer, as well as their emotions and cognitive load.

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