TY - JOUR
T1 - Sensorimotor learning of acupuncture needle manipulation using visual feedback
AU - Jung, Won Mo
AU - Lim, Jinwoong
AU - Lee, In Seon
AU - Park, Hi Joon
AU - Wallraven, Christian
AU - Chae, Younbyoung
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (No. 2011–0009913) and the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (no. K15070).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Jung et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2015/9/25
Y1 - 2015/9/25
N2 - Objective Humans can acquire a wide variety of motor skills using sensory feedback pertaining to discrepancies between intended and actual movements. Acupuncture needle manipulation involves sophisticated hand movements and represents a fundamental skill for acupuncturists. We investigated whether untrained students could improve their motor performance during acupuncture needle manipulation using visual feedback (VF). Methods Twenty-one untrained medical students were included, randomly divided into concurrent (n = 10) and post-trial (n = 11) VF groups. Both groups were trained in simple lift/thrusting techniques during session 1, and in complicated lift/thrusting techniques in session 2 (eight training trials per session). We compared the motion patterns and error magnitudes of preand post-training tests. Results During motion pattern analysis, both the concurrent and post-trial VF groups exhibited greater improvements in motion patterns during the complicated lifting/thrusting session. In the magnitude error analysis, both groups also exhibited reduced error magnitudes during the simple lifting/thrusting session. For the training period, the concurrent VF group exhibited reduced error magnitudes across all training trials, whereas the post-trial VF group was characterized by greater error magnitudes during initial trials, which gradually reduced during later trials. Conclusions Our findings suggest that novices can improve the sophisticated hand movements required for acupuncture needle manipulation using sensorimotor learning with VF. Use of two types of VF can be beneficial for untrained students in terms of learning how to manipulate acupuncture needles, using either automatic or cognitive processes.
AB - Objective Humans can acquire a wide variety of motor skills using sensory feedback pertaining to discrepancies between intended and actual movements. Acupuncture needle manipulation involves sophisticated hand movements and represents a fundamental skill for acupuncturists. We investigated whether untrained students could improve their motor performance during acupuncture needle manipulation using visual feedback (VF). Methods Twenty-one untrained medical students were included, randomly divided into concurrent (n = 10) and post-trial (n = 11) VF groups. Both groups were trained in simple lift/thrusting techniques during session 1, and in complicated lift/thrusting techniques in session 2 (eight training trials per session). We compared the motion patterns and error magnitudes of preand post-training tests. Results During motion pattern analysis, both the concurrent and post-trial VF groups exhibited greater improvements in motion patterns during the complicated lifting/thrusting session. In the magnitude error analysis, both groups also exhibited reduced error magnitudes during the simple lifting/thrusting session. For the training period, the concurrent VF group exhibited reduced error magnitudes across all training trials, whereas the post-trial VF group was characterized by greater error magnitudes during initial trials, which gradually reduced during later trials. Conclusions Our findings suggest that novices can improve the sophisticated hand movements required for acupuncture needle manipulation using sensorimotor learning with VF. Use of two types of VF can be beneficial for untrained students in terms of learning how to manipulate acupuncture needles, using either automatic or cognitive processes.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84947247403&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0139340
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0139340
M3 - Article
C2 - 26406248
AN - SCOPUS:84947247403
VL - 10
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 9
M1 - e0139340
ER -