Technology-enhanced learning in undergraduate neuroscience education: tractography-based virtual dissection in psychology
- 1University of Malaga
Abstract
Background: Neuroanatomy poses a significant challenge for Psychology students due to its spatial and conceptual complexity. Educational approaches that enhance the relevance and visualization of neuroanatomical content may improve students learning experiences. This study implemented a tractography-based activity focused on the virtual dissection of the arcuate fasciculus, a major white matter pathway, in undergraduate Psychology students and examined the relationships between perceived learning and students perceptions of utility, difficulty and handling, and organizational aspects of the activity. Methods: First-year undergraduate Psychology students participated in a two-session tractography-based activity combining instruction on white matter anatomy and diffusion tractography with a hands-on virtual dissection of the arcuate fasciculus using research-grade software routinely employed in neuroscience research. Following the activity, students completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing perceived learning, utility, difficulty and handling, and organizational aspects of the activity. Pearson correlations, multiple regression analyses, and relative importance analyses were performed. Results: Sixty-eight students completed the questionnaire. Students reported generally positive perceptions of the activity across the evaluated dimensions, with perceived learning receiving the highest mean score (M = 3.44, SD = .85). Perceived utility showed the strongest association with perceived learning (r = .64, p < .001). The regression model explained 41% of the variance in perceived learning (R2 = .41, adjusted R2 = .38, p < .001). Perceived utility was the only significant predictor in the model ({beta} = .59, p = .001), accounting for 67.9% of the explained variance. Conclusions: The findings support the feasibility of integrating authentic neuroimaging tools into undergraduate neuroanatomy teaching. Students who perceived the activity as more useful also reported higher perceived learning outcomes, with perceived utility emerging as the strongest predictor of perceived learning. In contrast, perceived difficulty and handling, and organizational aspects did not make significant independent contributions. These results suggest that students perceptions of educational relevance may play an important role in technology-enhanced STEM learning experiences.
Related
- Anatomical and radiological analysis of ventricular catheter trajectories: neuronavigation-guided dissection and tractography-based 3D visualization.
- Altered hemispheric lateralization of white matter pathways in developmental dyslexia: Evidence from spherical deconvolution tractography
- Diffusion MRI Tractography Predicts Electrophysiological Connectivity and Explains Spectral Signatures of Evoked Potentials in the Human Brain
- 3D ultrasound fascicle tractography for objective muscle architecture analysis.
- Mapping Mesolimbic Dopamine Projections to Subcortical Circuits Underlying Adaptive Behavior: A Human 7T Diffusion Tractography Atlas
BibTeX
@misc{lopezbarroso2026technologyenhanced,
title = {{Technology-enhanced learning in undergraduate neuroscience education: tractography-based virtual dissection in psychology}},
author = {D. Lopez-Barroso and M. J. Torres-Prioris},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.21.753122},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.21.753122v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Technology-enhanced learning in undergraduate neuroscience education: tractography-based virtual dissection in psychology
AU - D. Lopez-Barroso
AU - M. J. Torres-Prioris
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.21.753122
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.21.753122v1
AB - Background: Neuroanatomy poses a significant challenge for Psychology students due to its spatial and conceptual complexity. Educational approaches that enhance the relevance and visualization of neuroanatomical content may improve students learning experiences. This study implemented a tractography-based activity focused on the virtual dissection of the arcuate fasciculus, a major white matter pathway, in undergraduate Psychology students and examined the relationships between perceived learning and students perceptions of utility, difficulty and handling, and organizational aspects of the activity. Methods: First-year undergraduate Psychology students participated in a two-session tractography-based activity combining instruction on white matter anatomy and diffusion tractography with a hands-on virtual dissection of the arcuate fasciculus using research-grade software routinely employed in neuroscience research. Following the activity, students completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing perceived learning, utility, difficulty and handling, and organizational aspects of the activity. Pearson correlations, multiple regression analyses, and relative importance analyses were performed. Results: Sixty-eight students completed the questionnaire. Students reported generally positive perceptions of the activity across the evaluated dimensions, with perceived learning receiving the highest mean score (M = 3.44, SD = .85). Perceived utility showed the strongest association with perceived learning (r = .64, p < .001). The regression model explained 41% of the variance in perceived learning (R2 = .41, adjusted R2 = .38, p < .001). Perceived utility was the only significant predictor in the model ({beta} = .59, p = .001), accounting for 67.9% of the explained variance. Conclusions: The findings support the feasibility of integrating authentic neuroimaging tools into undergraduate neuroanatomy teaching. Students who perceived the activity as more useful also reported higher perceived learning outcomes, with perceived utility emerging as the strongest predictor of perceived learning. In contrast, perceived difficulty and handling, and organizational aspects did not make significant independent contributions. These results suggest that students perceptions of educational relevance may play an important role in technology-enhanced STEM learning experiences.
ER -