Research Article

Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro in answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society proficiency board exam questions: A comparative study

Volume: 19 Number: 3 July 10, 2026
TR EN

Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro in answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society proficiency board exam questions: A comparative study

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate and compare the answering capabilities and accuracy of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro for a set of 98 questions, including image-based questions, from the 2024 neurosurgery board certification examination.
Materials and methods: Answers to 98 questions, including image-based questions, were generated using GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro. We evaluated their performance through both one-shot and multiple-attempt methods, calculating accuracy and consistency rates. Comparisons were made between text-based and image-based questions to assess multimodal reasoning.
Results: GPT o1 pro achieved a one-shot accuracy of 92.9%, while GPT-4o reached 71.4% (p<0.001). Over three attempts, GPT o1 pro maintained 91.8% accuracy compared to GPT-4o’s 72.4% (p<0.001). GPT o1 pro also showed higher consistency (91.8% vs 78.6%, p=0.009). For text-only questions, GPT o1 pro reached 96.3% one-shot accuracy, compared to GPT-4o’s 72.8%. For image-based questions, GPT o1 pro scored 76.5%, and GPT-4o scored 64.7%, though this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.68). These results suggest that GPT o1 pro outperforms GPT-4o, especially for text-based items, but both models need further improvement for image-based tasks.
Conclusion: Both GPT o1 pro and GPT-4o successfully passed the 2024 Turkish Neurosurgical Society Board Certification Examination. GPT o1 pro showed notably higher accuracy and consistency than GPT-4o, suggesting a promising role for chain-of-thought reasoning in medical education.

Keywords

Thanks

The authors would like to thank the Turkish Neurosurgical Society for making the examination questions available on their website, which helped make this study possible.

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Brain and Nerve Surgery (Neurosurgery)

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

July 10, 2026

Submission Date

July 5, 2025

Acceptance Date

October 9, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 19 Number: 3

APA
Acar, A., & Tekirdaş, E. (2026). Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro in answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society proficiency board exam questions: A comparative study. Pamukkale Medical Journal, 19(3), 35-43. https://doi.org/10.31362/patd.1735217
AMA
1.Acar A, Tekirdaş E. Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro in answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society proficiency board exam questions: A comparative study. Pam Med J. 2026;19(3):35-43. doi:10.31362/patd.1735217
Chicago
Acar, Alaeddin, and Eray Tekirdaş. 2026. “Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT O1 Pro in Answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society Proficiency Board Exam Questions: A Comparative Study”. Pamukkale Medical Journal 19 (3): 35-43. https://doi.org/10.31362/patd.1735217.
EndNote
Acar A, Tekirdaş E (July 1, 2026) Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro in answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society proficiency board exam questions: A comparative study. Pamukkale Medical Journal 19 3 35–43.
IEEE
[1]A. Acar and E. Tekirdaş, “Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro in answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society proficiency board exam questions: A comparative study”, Pam Med J, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 35–43, July 2026, doi: 10.31362/patd.1735217.
ISNAD
Acar, Alaeddin - Tekirdaş, Eray. “Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT O1 Pro in Answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society Proficiency Board Exam Questions: A Comparative Study”. Pamukkale Medical Journal 19/3 (July 1, 2026): 35-43. https://doi.org/10.31362/patd.1735217.
JAMA
1.Acar A, Tekirdaş E. Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro in answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society proficiency board exam questions: A comparative study. Pam Med J. 2026;19:35–43.
MLA
Acar, Alaeddin, and Eray Tekirdaş. “Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT O1 Pro in Answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society Proficiency Board Exam Questions: A Comparative Study”. Pamukkale Medical Journal, vol. 19, no. 3, July 2026, pp. 35-43, doi:10.31362/patd.1735217.
Vancouver
1.Alaeddin Acar, Eray Tekirdaş. Evaluation of GPT-4o and GPT o1 pro in answering Turkish Neurosurgical Society proficiency board exam questions: A comparative study. Pam Med J. 2026 Jul. 1;19(3):35-43. doi:10.31362/patd.1735217

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