Histological Reasoning: Visual Cognition in Microanatomy

这个项目是一个多学科的认知研究在实践组织学，组织的微观解剖学。组织学是生物学，医学预科和医学院课程的核心课程，病理学家使用它的方法来诊断各种医学疾病。组织学教学以显微镜下组织的识别为中心。这是一项非常具有挑战性的任务，需要多年才能掌握。造成这种困难的主要原因是显微镜载玻片上的组织在外观上与整个组织有很大的不同。因此，组织学方面的能力需要培养高水平的视觉识别和推理能力。本项目将通过各种实验研究，探讨获得基础组织学专业知识的当前和最佳方法。本研究的具体目的如下：1)确定显微镜载玻片中可供人类感知的信息。

This project is a multidisciplinary study of cognition in the practice of histology, the microanatomy of tissues. Histology is a core course in the biological, premedical, and medical school curricula, and pathologists use its methods to diagnose a variety of medical disorders. Instruction in histology centers on the recognition of tissues in microscopes. This is a very challenging task that takes years to master. Much of the basis for this difficulty is that the tissue in microscope slides differs substantially in appearance from the whole tissue. As a result, ability in histology requires the development of high level skills of visual recognition and reasoning. This project will investigate the current and optimum methods for gaining expertise in basic histology through a variety of experimental studies. The specific aims of the proposed research are the following: 1) Determine the information for human perceivers in microscope slides. Two studies will generate models of the use of diagnostic information in microscope slides for individuals who have completed the first year course in histology. 2) Assess the importance of visuospatial understanding of microanatomy for identification of tissues in microscope slides. An experiment will be conducted to test the hypothesis that the ability to identify structures and tissues in microscope slides will vary directly with the degree to which people have a clear visuospatial understanding of the microanatomy of the whole tissue. 3) Assess the importance of visuospatial understanding of the slice transformation for identification of tissues in microscope slides. An experiment will be conducted to test the hypothesis that the ability to identify structures and tissues in microscope slides will vary directly with the degree to which people have a clear visuospatial understanding of the transformation that relates 3D anatomy to 2D anatomical sections. The results of this research will lead to a detailed understanding of cognition in histology and to advances in theories of visual symbol systems used in the interpretation of images generated by human technology (e.g., x-ray, mri, aerial photographs). This project has the potential to generate substantial change in the methods for developing skill in histology at both the undergraduate and the medical school levels. The study of virtual reality methods of learning in conjunction with a rigorous study of histological reasoning will lead directly to the development of software that may significantly accelerate the development of skill in this challenging and important field.