Neuroanatomy education is a challenging field which could benefit from modern innovations, such as augmented reality (AR) applications. This study investigates the differences on test scores, cognitive load, and motivation after neuroanatomy learning using AR applications or using cross‐sections of the brain. Prior to two practical assignments, a pretest (extended matching questions, double‐choice questions and a test on cross‐sectional anatomy) and a mental rotation test (MRT) were completed. Sex and MRT scores were used to stratify students over the two groups. The two practical assignments were designed to study (1) general brain anatomy and (2) subcortical structures. Subsequently, participants completed a posttest similar to the pretest and a motivational questionnaire. Finally, a focus group interview was conducted to appraise participants’ perceptions. Medical and biomedical students (n = 31); 19 males (61.3%) and 12 females (38.7%), mean age 19.2 ± 1.7 years participated in this experiment. Students who worked with cross‐sections (n = 16) showed significantly more improvement on test scores than students who worked with GreyMapp‐AR (P = 0.035) (n = 15). Further analysis showed that this difference was primarily caused by significant improvement on the cross‐sectional questions. Students in the cross‐section group, moreover, experienced a significantly higher germane (P = 0.009) and extraneous cognitive load (P = 0.016) than students in the GreyMapp‐AR group. No significant differences were found in motivational scores. To conclude, this study suggests that AR applications can play a role in future anatomy education as an add‐on educational tool, especially in learning three‐dimensional relations of anatomical structures.

中文翻译：

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神经解剖学学习：增强现实与横断面。

神经解剖学教育是一个充满挑战的领域，可以从诸如增强现实（AR）应用之类的现代创新中受益。这项研究调查了使用AR应用程序或使用大脑横截面的神经解剖学学习后，考试成绩，认知负荷和动机的差异。在进行两次实际作业之前，已完成了预测（扩展的匹配问题，双重选择问题和横断面解剖测试）和心理旋转测试（MRT）。性别和MRT分数用于对两组中的学生进行分层。这两个实际任务旨在研究（1）一般大脑解剖结构和（2）皮质下结构。随后，参与者完成了类似于预测的后测和动机调查表。最后，进行了焦点小组访谈，以评估参与者的看法。医学和生物医学专业的学生（n = 31）；男性19位（61.3％）和12位女性（38.7％），平均年龄19.2±1.7岁，参加了该实验。与使用GreyMapp‐AR的学生相比，使用横断面的学生（n = 16）表现出更大的考试成绩改善（P = 0.035）（n = 15）。进一步的分析表明，这种差异主要是由于横截面问题的显着改善引起的。此外，横断面组的学生经历了明显更高的德语（P = 0.009）和无关的认知负荷（P= 0.016），而不是GreyMapp‐AR组的学生。在动机分数上没有发现显着差异。总而言之，这项研究表明，AR应用程序可以在未来的解剖学教育中作为附加的教育工具发挥作用，尤其是在学习解剖结构的三维关系方面。