Surgeons often work in noisy environments, which can be stressful and potentially impact their performance. In this study, researchers used mobile electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate how the brain processes sounds in a simulated surgical setting. The findings provide insights into how the brain adapts to distractions and may help guide strategies to improve the work environment for healthcare professionals.
Navigating Noisy Operating Rooms
Surgeons face a variety of stressors in the workplace, including the complex soundscape of the operating room (OR). The OR is filled with a range of sounds, from crucial communication to the clatter of instruments. This constant barrage of noise can be perceived as distracting and stressful, potentially impacting the well-being and performance of surgical staff.
To better understand how the brain processes these complex soundscapes, researchers from the University of Oldenburg conducted a study using mobile EEG technology. The study simulated a realistic surgical environment, with participants performing a laparoscopic surgery task while exposed to a continuous OR soundscape.
Measuring Neural Responses to the Soundscape
The researchers used two complementary approaches to analyze the brain’s responses to the soundscape. First, they examined event-related potentials (ERPs), which reflect the brain’s response to specific sound events, such as spoken letters. This allowed them to investigate how the brain processes individual sounds within the complex soundscape.
Second, the researchers used temporal response functions (TRFs), which capture the brain’s ongoing response to the continuous soundscape. By relating the EEG signals to different acoustic features of the soundscape, such as the envelope or onsets of sounds, the researchers could gain insights into how the brain tracks and processes the dynamic auditory environment.
Uncovering the Impact of Cognitive Demand
To explore how the brain’s processing of the soundscape is influenced by cognitive demand, the researchers manipulated the level of demand during the surgical task. Participants were asked to remember either two or eight letters while performing the surgery, representing low and high-demand conditions, respectively.
Interestingly, the researchers found that while participants reported perceiving the high-demand condition as more challenging and distracting, this subjective experience was not reflected in the neural measures. Neither the ERPs nor the TRFs showed significant differences between the low and high-demand conditions.
Adapting to the Soundscape Over Time
However, the study did reveal changes in the neural responses over time, regardless of the cognitive demand. The ERP analysis showed a decrease in the amplitude of the N1 component and an increase in the P2 component, suggesting that the brain’s processing of the individual sounds within the soundscape adapted over the course of the experiment.
Similarly, the TRF analysis revealed a trend towards a decrease in the N1 response to the onset of sounds in the soundscape, indicating that the brain’s tracking of the continuous auditory environment also changed over time.
Practical Implications and Future Directions
The findings of this study highlight the importance of using multiple measures, including both subjective and objective assessments, to fully understand the complex relationship between sound processing and cognitive demand in real-world settings.
Furthermore, the researchers demonstrated the feasibility of using mobile EEG to study neural responses to natural soundscapes, even in challenging environments like a simulated surgical setting. This approach opens up new avenues for investigating how the brain adapts to and processes complex auditory environments, which could inform strategies to improve the work environment for healthcare professionals and other occupations exposed to challenging soundscapes.
As the researchers note, future studies could explore different ways of manipulating cognitive demand, as well as investigate the neural responses of experienced surgeons who may have developed strategies to cope with the demands of the OR soundscape. Ultimately, this line of research aims to provide a better understanding of how the brain processes and adapts to the complex auditory environments encountered in real-world settings.
Author credit: This article is based on research by Marc Rosenkranz, Thorge Haupt, Manuela Jaeger, Verena N. Uslar, Martin G. Bleichner.
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