Why does my brain hurt? Pathologist performance and pattern recognition

Abstract

Aim: To test whether indicators of pattern recognition moderate performance of new tasks. Background: You, or your colleagues may have participated in this research, where we recruited Anatomical Pathologists and Registrars at the 2019 RCPA Update meeting, and online, to complete an online series of tasks. Methods: We recruited 54 participants, who completed a series of 5 online tasks.1 To measure ‘brain strain’, 27 participants wore an infrared head band measuring pre-frontal cortex blood flow.2 Result: Higher pattern recognition was associated with greater accuracy on diagnostic tasks, and diagnosis of uncommon entities. Those participants with lower pattern recognition were less likely to select unlisted diagnoses for example, ‘none of the above’ in multiple choice questions. High pattern recognition was associated with higher cerebral blood flow. Conclusion: The results validated our online task tool.1 The finding that those participants with lower pattern recognition skills were more likely to select an incorrect diagnosis from a list of answers indicates susceptibility to confirmation, and availability biases.3 Those participants with higher pattern recognition were less prone these cognitive errors. The finding of higher ‘brain strain’ in those with high pattern recognition suggests that higher levels of accuracy were achieved with greater cognitive effort. Reproducibility and longitudinal studies are planned.