A STUDY OF MENTAL ACTIVITY AMONG HEALTHY MEDICAL STUDENTS USING A VIRTUAL MODEL TO INVESTIGATE ACUTE COGNITIVE STRESS EFFECTS

Authors

  • Ketevan Janashia Central Scientific Research Laboratory, Aieti Medical School, David Tvildiani Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
  • Ana Chikviladze Central Scientific Research Laboratory, Aieti Medical School, David Tvildiani Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
  • Aleksandre Ramishvili Central Scientific Research Laboratory, Aieti Medical School, David Tvildiani Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
  • Levan Mikeladze The First University Clinic of Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v9i8.4438

Keywords:

acute cognitive stress, visual stimuli, simple and complex sensorimotor reactions time, mental activity

Abstract

Studies have shown that first-year medical students, experience psychological stress and, in some cases, mental illness due to new environments and stressful study regimes of the medical universities. An experimental study was conducted on first and next (2-3) year medical students of both genders. In the acute stress-recognized virtual model, participants were exposed to two increasing complexity visual tasks. Some derivative indices: correct answers in percent (CA%), reaction sustainability (RS), and functional ability level (FAL) were calculated based on the reaction time measures during simple and complex sensorimotor reactions (SSMRT, CSMRT). For statistical analysis ANOVA and Bonferroni correction t-test was used. No significant differences were found in mental activity between the two genders in 2-3 year medical students, except for CA% in the males' group during CSMRT which indicates that males concentrate well; There were significant differences in parameters of SSMRT (RS; CA%) and CSMRT (RS; FAL; CA%) between first-year males and females; Significant differences were found also in parameters of SSMRT (RS; CA%) and CSMRT (FAL; CA%) between first and next-year medical students in the females' group and no significant differences between first and next-year medical students in males group. Seems independent of gender, in 2-3 year medical students the sensorimotor and cognitive abilities are almost the same. The better mental performance parameters in the male group of first-year students can be explained only by the presence of certain stress in the female group, which can be related to the difficulty adapting to new environments and stressful learning regimes. In addition, male students are able to concentrate better compared to females on acute visual stress. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the psychophysiology of mental activity and further demonstrate how a virtual model can be used to investigate acute cognitive stress effects.

 

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Author Biographies

  • Ketevan Janashia, Central Scientific Research Laboratory, Aieti Medical School, David Tvildiani Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia

    Dr. Ketevan Janashia, MD, PhD Head and Principal of CSRL at DTMU, Tbilisi, Georgia. Her research interest includes Experimental Medicine, Human’s Physiology, Stress Physiology and Psychology, and Environmental Stress. orcid.org/0000-0003-4405-9963

  • Ana Chikviladze, Central Scientific Research Laboratory, Aieti Medical School, David Tvildiani Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia

    MD. Ana Chikviladze, Researcher of CSRL at DTMU, Tbilisi, Georgia. Her research interest includes Personal and Educational Psychology, Stress Psychology.

  • Aleksandre Ramishvili, Central Scientific Research Laboratory, Aieti Medical School, David Tvildiani Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia

    Aleksandre Ramishvili, PhD student at DTMU, Tbilisi, Georgia.

  • Levan Mikeladze, The First University Clinic of Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia

    Levan Mikeladze, Ophthalmologist at the First University Clinic of Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia. His research interest includes Stress Physiology.

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Published

2022-08-31

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 8 (2022)

Section

Articles

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