GUL LogoA team of experts have discovered that trainee eye surgeons could perhaps considerably improve their surgical skills by regulating their own brainwave activity. Supposedly, this brainwave activity can be controlled with the help of a process called neurofeedback. This novel study was led by Tomas Ros and Professor John Gruzelier, both from Goldsmiths, University of London.

For the purpose of the study, experts particularly examined the effects of self-regulating brainwaves on National Health Service trainee ophthalmic microsurgeons.

Neurofeedback is known to be a type of ‘brain training’ which involves brain activity being monitored by sensors. Sensors are used so that individuals may perhaps be able view the activity on a screen. Apparently, the individual who is being monitored can also then see their brain activity in real time.

They could perhaps then try to affect the activity themselves which is called as self-regulating. The idea seems to be that the individual can then ‘train’ their brain in order to carry out a specific task more efficiently.

The study findings revealed that neurofeedback training seemed to have provided a considerable improvement in surgical procedure in the trainee eye surgeons. In addition, the training considerably appears to have decreased the time they spend while performing the surgery.

The findings of the study have been published in the online journal of BioMed Central Neuroscience.