Effects of Mental Activity on Hand Skill Rate Performance Ability among Second Grader Medical Students

Introduction: Determination of hand skill rate is thought to be important for the functional evaluation of nervous system. Therefore, hand skill performance monitoring could be a reliable measure for the effect of audio-visual medical teaching on central nervous system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of mental activity on the hand skill rate performance ability following one hour audio-visual medical teaching. Methods: Participants were 34 healthy screened right handed volunteers (19 female, 15 male, age between 18 - 22 years). Hand skill rate performance time was assessed by Annett’s peg moving task. Each participant repeated the task five times in a different time, before and after the lecture. Data were analyzed by statistical software package SPSS. Statistical significance level of p < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: Hand skill rate performance time value was not associated with the gender difference. Based on this result, statistical evaluation was performed without gender discrimination (n = 34). When the hand skill rate performance times of each hand were compared with the values obtained before and after lecture, it was found that hand skill rate performance times for both right and left hands were decreased in all subjects after the lecture. Conclusions: This study may suggest that attending an audio-visual medical teaching lecture and performing Annett’s peg moving test may both cause activation in the common areas of nervous system. This activation may lead a state of alertness on the students, which in turn affects hand skill rate performance time in a positive manner. Therefore, we may suggest placing laboratory sessions in the curriculum at least one hour following a theoretical lecture since this may lead to increasing the success and the practicability of the sessions.