Video game and mental rotation training improve spatial anatomy task scores (725.5)

Abstract

High scores in measures of mental rotation have been associated with improved spatial anatomy performance. Mental rotation training, such as video games as well as paper‐and‐pencil mental rotation tasks, has been shown to improve mental rotation scores. The purpose of the study is to determine whether video game or paper‐and‐pencil mental rotation training can improve spatial anatomy ability.Participants in the study (n=13), either medical or dental students, were asked to complete the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) and the Spatial Anatomy Task (SAT) to provide a baseline measure of their spatial ability and spatial anatomy knowledge, respectively. Based on MRT scores, participants were assigned to one of three groups: one that played 5 cumulative hours of the video game Tetris (n=3), another that completed the MRT daily over the span of a 5 days (n=4), and a control group that received no training (n=5). All participants were again asked to complete the MRT and SAT after training. Paired t‐tests were used to compare baseline and final test scores in each group.Preliminary results show that both the MRT group (p = 0.046) and the Tetris group (p = 0.014) significantly improved their total SAT scores, while the control group (p = 0.129) did not. Although more research is necessary to make definitive conclusions, the current study indicates that mental rotation training may be of benefit for students learning spatial anatomy.