Visuo-motor transformations in the intraparietal sulcus mediate the acquisition of endovascular medical skill

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 266; p. 119781
• Main Authors: Paul, Katja I., Mueller, Karsten, Rousseau, Paul-Noel, Glathe, Annegret, Taatgen, Niels A., Cnossen, Fokie, Lanzer, Peter, Villringer, Arno, Steele, Christopher J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.02.2023; Elsevier Limited; Elsevier
• Subjects: Brain plasticity; Cardiovascular system; Core curriculum; Functional plasticity; Humans; Intraparietal sulcus; Laparoscopy; Learning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Mental task performance; Motor ability; Motor skill learning; Motor Skills; Multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging; Neuroimaging; Neuroplasticity; Parietal Lobe - diagnostic imaging; Skill acquisition; Skills; Structure-function relationships; Training; Visuo-motor learning; Brain plasticity; Skill acquisition; Visuo-motor learning; Multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119781

•Acquiring the skills needed to conduct an endovascular intervention is associated with structural and functional brain changes in the intraparietal sulcus.•behavioural improvements on the endovascular task are related to connectivity changes between the visual cortex and bi-lateral clusters in the intraparietal sulcus.•Individual differences in grey matter volume of cerebellar Lobule VIIIb predict participants’ overall performance in this newly acquired medical skill. Performing endovascular medical interventions safely and efficiently requires a diverse set of skills that need to be practised in dedicated training sessions. Here, we used multimodal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to determine the structural and functional plasticity and core skills associated with skill acquisition. A training group learned to perform a simulator-based endovascular procedure, while a control group performed a simplified version of the task; multimodal MR images were acquired before and after training. Using a well-controlled interaction design, we found strong multimodal evidence for the role of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) in endovascular skill acquisition that is in line with previous work implicating the structure in visuospatial transformations including simple visuo-motor and mental rotation tasks. Our results provide a unique window into the multimodal nature of rapid structural and functional plasticity of the human brain while learning a multifaceted and complex clinical skill. Further, our results provide a detailed description of the plasticity process associated with endovascular skill acquisition and highlight specific facets of skills that could enhance current medical pedagogy and be useful to explicitly target during clinical resident training.