Integrating collaborative virtual reality into medical neuroanatomy selectively enhances short-term spatial understanding of brain structure.

Learning neuroanatomy presents a major challenge for medical students due to the brain's high spatial complexity and the limitations of traditional two-dimensional instruction methods. Virtual reality (VR) provides immersive three-dimensional visualization which may enhance spatial understanding, yet its effectiveness when implemented collaboratively (i.e., in groups) within a formal medical curriculum remains insufficiently explored. Here, we evaluate the educational value of integrating a mandatory, group-based VR laboratory using photogrammetry-derived brain models into a medical neuroanatomy course. One hundred and eighty-three medical students completed either a standard neuroanatomy course (n = 98; control group), or the same course with the addition of a 1-h collaborative VR session focusing on the cerebral hemispheres (n = 85, VR group). Neuroanatomy knowledge was assessed immediately after course completion and again 6 months later, using exams that included both theoretical and spatially demanding questions across three anatomical topics. Learning experience and self-study behavior were also evaluated. Immediately after course completion, the VR group demonstrated significantly improved performance on spatially demanding questions related to hemispheric topography, the topic studied in VR. At 6-month follow-up, overall performance declined similarly across groups, with no evidence of enhanced long-term retention. These findings demonstrate that a curricular implementation of a relatively modest collaborative VR intervention (a single 1-h session) is associated with selective short-term performance gains in spatial understanding of human brain structure.