Effect of a Three-Hour Written Examination on the Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV) of the Dominant Hand in Medical Students

Nerve conduction studies (NCS) help diagnose and monitor disorders of the peripheral nervous system. The nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test is a simple, non-invasive method for evaluating nerve injuries and neuropathies. Various factors, including age, temperature, and limb dominance, influence NCV. Fatigue, which can be physical or mental, also affects nerve conduction. Continuous activities like writing can lead to muscle fatigue, but motor redundancy helps compensate for reduced function. Hand dominance, assessed using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI), may affect NCV. This study examined NCV changes in the dominant hand of medical students after three-hour objective and subjective exams. The study involved 50 first-year medical undergraduates who consented to participate, and was conducted in the Physiology and Neurology departments of a reputed medical college in North India. We hypothesized that the objective examination would cause less fatigue to the muscles of the hand, hence it could assist in bringing a change in the pattern of university examinations. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind, as no study has previously assessed post-examination NCV in medical students. However, the results of the study showed little change in the conduction velocity of the motor part of the median nerve. This could have been due to the small sample size.