A Know-Brainer: The Power of Cadaver-Based Instruction to Teach Clinical Neuroanatomy

Learning experiences that incorporate cadaver prosection or dissection of the brain have shown to enhance the acquisition and retention of neuroanatomy and improve standardized examination scores when included within medical curriculum. However, the role of cadaver-based instruction within allied health fields, and particularly in the field of communication sciences and disorders (CSD), remains limited and less understood.

The effectiveness of a cadaver-based lab compared to lecture to teach neuroanatomy within an undergraduate/postbaccalaureate clinical neuroscience course for CSD majors was explored within a crossover design. Fifty-four participants were stratified by class rank between two initial training sessions: lab-first versus lecture-first. Neuroanatomical knowledge was tested via labeling tasks at baseline, after the first allocated training, and at 1-week follow-up after crossover training had been completed.

Both cohorts demonstrated significant gains in neuroanatomical knowledge following training, yet after the initial training session, students that received cadaver-based instruction produced a significantly greater number (p < .001) and more accurate (p < .001) anatomical labels than students that received lecture. After completion of the crossover design, students receiving cadaver-based instruction prior to lecture continued to demonstrate superior labeling accuracy at follow-up testing (p = .022).

Cadaver-based instruction was more effective in improving students' ability to identify neuroanatomy compared to lecture for CSD students. Interestingly, cadaver-based demonstrations were also most effective in bolstering students' retention of structural knowledge when conducted before, instead of after, a lecture. Clinical training programs, specifically student learning outcomes, benefit from cadaver-based instruction that provides both three-dimensional orientation and a deep appreciation of the human elements of clinical anatomy. Furthermore, both the acquisition and retention of anatomical concepts may be enhanced through strategic instructional design, particularly in regard to the order of lecture and lab experiences.