Chapter 12 A Stitch in Time: Cognitive Issues in Microsurgery

Publisher Microsurgery is an ideal venue for the study of motor skill for a number of reasons. In general, very little is known about the acquisition of movement skills performed at the microscopic level. Even researchers in human factors have given little effort to the empirical study of micro-movements. In microsurgery, very little about the acquisition or development of skill, or the transfer (positive and negative) of skill from macrosurgery is known. The chapter discusses whether the dependent measures used in the case studies reflect expertise and changes with experience. The present study reveals that it is not just the most basic procedures of microsurgery that become efficient but all of the requisite skills. There are number of attempts to develop more standardized tests of learning and transfer that will eventually allow novice-expert group comparisons. One of the curious aspects of motor performance under the microscope is why the motor system should be so adaptable as to be able to function efficiently at high levels of magnification that far exceed the normal range of vision. As all sensory systems have an absolute range it is amazing that motor system capabilities should far exceed the limits imposed by the normal range of vision.