December 2023 submission closure: Please note that to accommodate reviewer and recommender holiday schedules, PCI RR will be closed to ALL submissions from 1st December 2023 until 10th January 2024. During this time, reviewers will remain able to submit reviews, and recommenders can issue decision letters for ongoing submissions, but no new or revised submissions can be made by authors.
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Latest recommendations
| Id | Title | Authors | Abstract▲ | Picture | Thematic fields | Recommender | Reviewers | Submission date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
17 Nov 2022
STAGE 1
Removing barriers to plant-based diets: assisting doctors with vegan patientsStage 1 acceptance (IPA)Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Joshua Tasoff, Bence Palfi and Alaa AldohThank you for your careful response to the points of myself and the reviewers. I am now happy to award in principle acceptance (IPA). As requested, your submission is being awarded a private Stage 1 acceptance, which will not appear yet on the PCI RR website. Your Stage 1 manuscript has also been registered under the requested 4-year private embargo on the OSF (link below). URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/fc9gp Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals: | Removing barriers to plant-based diets: assisting doctors with vegan patients | Romain Espinosa, Thibaut Arpinon, Paco Maginot, Sébastien Demange, and Florimond Peureux | <div style="text-align: justify;">Shifting to plant-based diets can alleviate many of the externalities associated with the current food system. Spontaneous shifts in diet are often hindered by consumers’ imperfect knowledge about the health risks... | Medical Sciences, Social sciences | Zoltan Dienes | 2021-08-16 16:50:43 | |||
09 Feb 2023
STAGE 1
The Medusa effect: A registered replication report of Will, Merritt, Jenkins, and Kingstone (2021)Looking (again) at Medusa: does pictorial abstraction influence mind perception?Recommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Alan Kingstone, Brittany Cassidy and 3 anonymous reviewersThe Medusa effect is a recently described phenomenon in which people judge a person to be more mindful when they appear as a picture than as a picture within a picture. Across a series of experiments, Will et al. (2021) reported that at higher levels of abstraction, images of people were judged lower in realness (how real the person seemed), experience (the ability to feel) and agency (the ability to plan and act), and also benefited less from prosocial behaviour. The findings provide an intriguing window into mind perception – the extent to which we attribute minds and mental capacities to others.
In the current study, Han et al. (2023) propose a close replication of two experiments from the original report by Will et al. (2021), asking first, whether the level of pictorial abstraction influences ratings of realness, agency and experience, and second, whether it also influences prosocial behaviour as measured in the dictator game (with participants predicted to allocate more money to recipients presented as pictures than as pictures within pictures). In the event of a non-replication using the original materials, the authors will further repeat the experiments using newly generated stimuli that are better matched for cultural context and more tightly controlled along various dimensions.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/xj46z Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals: References
1. Will, P., Merritt, E., Jenkins, R., & Kingstone, A. (2021). The Medusa effect reveals levels of mind perception in pictures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(32), e2106640118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2106640118
2. Han, J., Zhang, M., Liu, J., Song, Y. & Yamada, Y. (2023).The Medusa effect: A registered replication report of Will, Merritt, Jenkins, and Kingstone (2021), in principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/xj46z
| The Medusa effect: A registered replication report of Will, Merritt, Jenkins, and Kingstone (2021) | Jing Han, Minjun Zhang, Jiaxin Liu, Yu Song, Yuki Yamada | <div>The medusa effect refers to the tendency of people to evaluate a "picture of a person" as more mindful than a "picture of a picture of a person". This phenomenon is strikingly intriguing because it suggests that when people evaluate the human... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | Anonymous, Alan Kingstone, Anonymous, Anonymous | 2022-08-18 09:50:35 | ||
21 Jun 2022
STAGE 1
Pathway between Negative Interpretation Biases and Psychological Symptoms: Rumination as a Transdiagnostic Mediator in a Longitudinal StudyProbing the interaction between interpretation bias and repetitive negative thinking in subclinical psychopathologyRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Ariana Castro and Rita PasionResearch in clinical psychology has found that interpretation bias (perceiving ambiguous information in a systematically negative or hostile way) and repetitive negative thinking (recurrent, prolonged worry or rumination) are associated with a range of psychopathologies – including depression, anxiety and paranoia – but the complex interplay between them in driving symptomatology is unclear. Here, Chung and Cheung (2022) propose a longitudinal examination of the directional relationship between interpretation bias and psychological symptoms in subclinical depression and paranoia, as well as the potential transdiagnostic mediating role of repetitive negative thinking. Using an online three-wave design, they ask whether the association between negative interpretation biases and psychological symptoms is bidirectional, whether negative interpretation biases are associated with repetitive negative thinking over time, and whether repetitive negative thinking is associated with psychological symptoms over time. They will also test whether negative interpretation biases and psychological symptoms exert reciprocal influences across dimensions through repetitive negative thinking, and whether repetitive negative thinking acts as a transdiagnostic mediator for depression and paranoid thoughts. Overall, the study aims to generate a clearer understanding of the relationship between interpretation biases and subclinical symptomatology, as well as clarifying the role of rumination as a transdiagnostic mechanism that mediates psychopathology.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/89n7u (currently under private embargo) Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Chung, H.-F. & Cheung, S.-H. (2022). Repetitive negative thinking as a transdiagnostic mediator in the interplay of interpretation biases and psychological symptoms in depression and paranoia: A three-wave longitudinal study, in principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/89n7u
| Pathway between Negative Interpretation Biases and Psychological Symptoms: Rumination as a Transdiagnostic Mediator in a Longitudinal Study | Chung, Ho-Fung, Cheung, Sing-Hang, | <h4>Background</h4> <p>The association between interpretation biases and content-relevant symptoms have been well-established but no studies have investigated their cause-and-effect relationship in a prospective longitudinal design. To date, the... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | Ariana Castro, Rita Pasion | 2022-02-17 05:36:23 | ||
31 May 2023
STAGE 1
Defacing biases in manual and automated quality assessments of structural MRI with MRIQCThe impact of removing facial features on quality measures of structural MRI scansRecommended by D. Samuel Schwarzkopf based on reviews by Catherine Morgan and Cassandra Gould van PraagData sharing is perhaps the most fundamental step for increasing the transparency and reproducibility of scientific research. However, the goals of open science must be tempered by ethical considerations, protecting the privacy and safety of research participants. Bridging this gap causes challenges for many fields, such as human neuroimaging. Brain images, as measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are unique to the participant and therefore contain identifying information by definition. One way to mitigate the risk to participants arising from public data sharing has been "defacing" the MRI scans, i.e., literally removing the part of the image that contains the face and surrounding tissue, while preserving the brain structure. This procedure however also removes information that is not (or at least minimally) identifiable. It also remains unclear whether defacing the images affects image quality and thus the information necessary for addressing many research questions.
The current study by Provins et al. (2023) seeks to address this question. Leveraging a publicly available "IXI dataset" comprising hundreds of T1-weighted structural MRI scans, they will assess the effect of defacing on manual and automatic estimates of image quality. Specifically, the researchers will compare image quality ratings by experts for a subset of 185 images. They hypothesise that images in which facial features have been removed are typically assigned higher quality ratings. Moreover, using a full data set of 580 images, which have been obtained across three scanning sites, they will also test the impact defacing MRI scans has on automated quality measures obtained with MRIQC software. The results of this study should have important implications for open science policy and for designing the optimal procedures for sharing structural MRI data in an ethical way. For example, if the authors' hypothesis is confirmed, studies relying on MRI quality measures might be better served by a custodianship model where identifiable data is shared under strict conditions, rather than relying on publishing defaced data. More generally, the outcome of this study may have significant legal implications in many jurisdictions.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated at the inital triage stage by the Recommender and PCI:RR team, and another round of in-depth review by two experts. After a detailed response and substantial revisions, the recommender judged the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/qcket (under temporary private embargo)
Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question has been accessed and partially observed by the authors, but the authors certify that they have not yet observed the key variables within the data that will be used to answer the research question AND they have taken additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Provins, C., Savary, E., Alemán-Gómez, Y., Richiardi, J., Poldrack, R. A., Hagmann, P. & Esteban, O. (2023). Defacing biases in manual and automated quality assessments of structural MRI with MRIQC, in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/qcket
| Defacing biases in manual and automated quality assessments of structural MRI with MRIQC | Céline Provins, Yasser Alemán-Gómez, Jonas Richiardi, Russell A. Poldrack, Patric Hagmann, Oscar Esteban | <p>A critical requirement before data-sharing of human neuroimaging is removing facial features to protect individuals’ privacy. However, not only does this process redact identifiable information about individuals, but it also removes non-identif... | Medical Sciences | D. Samuel Schwarzkopf | Cassandra Gould van Praag, Catherine Morgan, | 2022-11-28 10:59:32 | ||
16 Sep 2022
STAGE 1
Action-Inaction Asymmetries in Emotions and Counterfactual Thoughts: Meta-Analysis of the Action EffectCharting meta-analytic evidence for the action-effectRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Dan Quintana, Emiel Cracco and priyali rajagopalWinston Churchill once famously quipped, “I never worry about action, but only inaction.” Churchill, however, may have been an exception to the rule, with psychological research suggesting that people are more concerned about the consequences of actions than inactions. During the so-called “action-effect”, first reported by Kahneman and Tversky (1982), people regret an action leading to a bad outcome more than they do an inaction leading to the same bad outcome In the current study, Yeung and Feldman (2022) propose a wide-ranging meta-analysis to characterise evidence for the action-effect, focusing in particular on emotions and counterfactual thoughts – that is, mental representations of alternative decisions (or “what if” thoughts). Consistent with the expected consequences of the action-effect on emotion, they predict that action will be associated with stronger negative emotions than inaction (when outcomes are negative), and with stronger positive emotions than inaction (when outcomes are positive). The authors also expect action to be associated with a greater abundance of counterfactual thought compared to inaction. In addition to examining the overall reliability of the action-effect (plus a range of exploratory questions), the study will also examine the extent to which the action-effect is moderated by temporal distance (with more recent events or behaviours predicted to associated with a stronger action effect), the type of study design, prior outcomes and social norms, the specificity (vs. generality) of the prior event, and whether the study employed a hypothetical scenario or a real-life event. The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA). URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/4pvs6 Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question has been accessed and partially observed by the authors, but the authors certify that they have not yet observed the key variables within the data that will be used to answer the research question References | Action-Inaction Asymmetries in Emotions and Counterfactual Thoughts: Meta-Analysis of the Action Effect | Siu Kit Yeung, Gilad Feldman | <p>Action-effect refers to the phenomenon in which people experience, associate, or attribute stronger emotions for action compared to inaction. In this registered report, we conducted a meta-analysis of the action effect literature (k = [enter nu... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2021-07-16 14:02:56 | |||
27 Mar 2023
STAGE 1
Optimizing Esports Performance Using a Synergistic Mindsets InterventionSynergistic Mindset Intervention for Competitive SituationsRecommended by Veli-Matti Karhulahti based on reviews by Lee Moore, Ivan Ropovik , Ivana Piterová and Jacob KeechMindset theories suggest that the mere belief in the malleability of human abilities can already help one to develop related performance. On the other hand, one and the same performance situation can also be experienced in various affective ways, which differently contribute to performance outcomes. Arguably, appraising a performance situation as a “threat” instead of “challenge” is associated with maladaptive responses, such as impaired cardiovascular mobilization. If people could experience performance situations as positive challenges, this might also improve performance outcomes. Drawing from these connected theoretical premises, the synergistic mindset intervention was developed and tentatively found to help adolescents in stressful situations (Yeager et al., 2022).
In the present registered report, Behnke et al. (2023) build on the above and test whether the synergistic mindset intervention can help individuals in competitive gaming situations. The authors utilize one of the leading esport games, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and recruit its active players into randomized control and intervention groups for two weeks. Ultimately, the participants compete in a cash-prize tournament involving measures of affective experience and cardiovascular responses. Behnke et al. (2023) hypothesize that the synergistic mindset group will show greater challenge affective responses and superior performance outcomes. As such, the study design has significant potential to generate valuable evidence for various theoretical models and the synergistic mindset model in particular. The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds by four experts with experimental psychology specializations in mindsets, stress, and statistics. Based on the comprehensive responses to the reviewers' feedback, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA). URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/z3adb Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
Behnke M., Lakens D., Petrova K., Chwiłkowska P., Kaczmarek L. D., Jamieson J. P., & Gross J. J. (2023) Optimizing Esports Performance Using a Synergistic Mindsets Intervention. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/z3adb Yeager D.S., Bryan C.J., Gross J.J., Murray J., Krettek D., Santos P., ... & Jamieson J.P. (2022) A synergistic mindsets intervention protects adolescents from stress. Nature 607, 512–520. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04907-7 | Optimizing Esports Performance Using a Synergistic Mindsets Intervention | Maciej Behnke, Daniël Lakens, Kate Petrova, Patrycja Chwiłkowska, Lukasz D. Kaczmarek, Jeremy P. Jamieson, James J. Gross | <p>Affective responses during stressful high-stakes situations can play an important role in shaping performance outcomes. For example, feeling shaky and nervous at a job interview can undermine performance, whereas feeling pumped and excited duri... | | Social sciences | Veli-Matti Karhulahti | 2023-01-04 10:12:55 | ||
21 Mar 2023
STAGE 1
Convenience Samples and Measurement Equivalence in Replication ResearchDoes data from students and crowdsourced online platforms measure the same thing? Determining the external validity of combining data from these two types of subjectsRecommended by Corina Logan based on reviews by Benjamin Farrar and Shinichi NakagawaComparative research is how evidence is generated to support or refute broad hypotheses (e.g., Pagel 1999). However, the foundations of such research must be solid if one is to arrive at the correct conclusions. Determining the external validity (the generalizability across situations/individuals/populations) of the building blocks of comparative data sets allows one to place appropriate caveats around the robustness of their conclusions (Steckler & McLeroy 2008).
In this registered report, Alley and colleagues plan to tackle the external validity of comparative research that relies on subjects who are either university students or participating in experiments via an online platform (Alley et al. 2023). They will determine whether data from these two types of subjects have measurement equivalence - whether the same trait is measured in the same way across groups. Although they use data from studies involved in the Many Labs replication project to evaluate this question, their results will be of crucial importance to other comparative researchers whose data are generated from these two sources (students and online crowdsourcing). If Alley and colleagues show that these two types of subjects have measurement equivalence, then this indicates that it is more likely that equivalence could hold for other studies relying on these type of subjects as well. If measurement equivalence is not found, then it is a warning to others to evaluate their experimental design to improve validity. In either case, it gives researchers a way to test measurement equivalence for themselves because the code is well annotated and openly available for others to use.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA). Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question has been accessed and partially observed by the authors, but the authors certify that they have not yet observed the key variables within the data that will be used to answer the research question AND they have taken additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour (e.g. conservative statistical threshold; recruitment of a blinded analyst; robustness testing, multiverse/specification analysis, or other approach)
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
Alley L. J., Axt, J., & Flake J. K. (2023). Convenience Samples and Measurement Equivalence in Replication Research, in principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/7gtvf
Steckler, A. & McLeroy, K. R. (208). The importance of external validity. American Journal of Public Health 98, 9-10. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2007.126847
Pagel, M. (1999). Inferring the historical patterns of biological evolution. Nature, 401, 877-884. https://doi.org/10.1038/44766
| Convenience Samples and Measurement Equivalence in Replication Research | Lindsay J. Alley, Jordan Axt, Jessica Kay Flake | <p>A great deal of research in psychology employs either university student or online crowdsourced convenience samples (Chandler & Shapiro, 2016; Strickland & Stoops, 2019) and there is evidence that these groups differ in meaningful ways ... | Social sciences | Corina Logan | 2022-11-29 18:37:54 | |||
05 Aug 2022
STAGE 1
Through the lens of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD): experiences of a late diagnosisDevelopmental Coordination Disorder Diagnosis as Part of Evolving Self-ConceptsRecommended by Veli-Matti Karhulahti based on reviews by moin syed, Gill Waters and Catherine PurcellAlthough developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder with an estimated prevalence of up to 6% in children (APA, 2013), many DCD diagnoses are not made before late adulthood. Receiving a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosis has been found adding to people’s self-concepts, for instance, with autism spectrum disorder (Tan, 2018), but it is not well known if and how such events unfold in late DCD diagnoses. In this Stage 1 Registered Report, Topor et al. (2022) present a careful plan to qualitatively investigate the lived experiences of individuals with a late DCD diagnosis in order to map out the variety of emotional responses to diagnoses and their effects on self-concepts.
Topor et al. (2022) will carry out 10–15 semi-structured interviews with participants who received a DCD diagnosis at the age of 30 or after. They commit to realist epistemology when utilizing thematic analysis; namely, instructions have been preregistered for two separate analysts who will code the transcript data independently. At the same time, the methodology involves reflexive components. The authors have prepared strong positionality statements through which their analyses will be carried out with post-analysis reflections to be written at Stage 2. The coding process will explicitly involve a data analysis log that pursues interpretive transparency. The data and materials will be shared, which adds to the work's value in the context of open qualitative psychology in general. The study will help us better understand the process of receiving (late) DCD diagnoses and, specifically, how the emotional aftermath is potentially related to one’s evolving self-concept. In addition to making a clear contribution to cumulative scientific knowledge, the findings can be useful for professionals working with DCD-diagnosed individuals as well as for the development of related support services. The Registered Report format allowed the research design to be reviewed in three rounds before data collection. Initially, three experts representing developmental psychology and DCD reviewed the Stage 1 manuscript, after which the recommender carried out two iterations with further requested revisions. This was followed by in-principle acceptance. URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/67h3f
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. APA (2013) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed, American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC. 2. Tan, C. D. (2018). “I'm a normal autistic person, not an abnormal neurotypical”: Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis as biographical illumination.” Social Science & Medicine, 197, 161-167. 3. Topor, M., Armstrong, G., Gentle, J. (2022). Through the lens of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD): experiences of a late diagnosis, in principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/67h3f
| Through the lens of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD): experiences of a late diagnosis | Marta Topor, Gemma Armstrong, Judith Gentle | <p>A late diagnosis of a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition has been shown to be an important life event with strong emotional consequences and deep personal reflections. Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD/Dyspraxia) is a common, y... | Medical Sciences, Social sciences | Veli-Matti Karhulahti | 2022-01-11 21:48:18 | |||
14 Aug 2023
STAGE 1
Cue-based modulation of pain stimulus expectation: do ongoing oscillations reflect changes in pain perception?Understanding oscillatory correlates of pain expectationRecommended by Gemma Learmonth based on reviews by Zoltan Dienes, Chris Chambers and Markus PlonerRecent studies using an EEG frequency tagging approach have reported modulations of alpha, beta and theta bands at the stimulation frequency during nociceptive/painful thermal stimulation compared to non-nociceptive/non-painful vibrotactile stimulation. Prior expectations of the intensity of upcoming painful stimuli are known to strongly modulate the subjective experience of those stimuli. Thus, modulating the expectation of pain should result in a change in the modulation of oscillations if these factors are indeed linked.
In this study, Leu, Glineur and Liberati will modulate expectations of pain (low or high intensity) prior to delivering thermal cutaneous stimulation (low, medium or high intensity). They will record how intense participants expect the pain to be, and how intense they felt it to be, as well as record EEG to assess oscillatory differences across the expectation and intensity conditions.
The Stage 1 manuscript was reviewed over 5 rounds by 3 reviewers. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers’ comments and edits to the Stage 1 report, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/y6fb8
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals: References
1. Leu, C., Glineur, E. & Liberati, G. (2023). Cue-based modulation of pain stimulus expectation: do ongoing oscillations reflect changes in pain perception? In principle acceptance of Version 5 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/y6fb8 | Cue-based modulation of pain stimulus expectation: do ongoing oscillations reflect changes in pain perception? | Chiara Leu, Esther Glineur, Giulia Liberati | <p>A promising stream of investigations is targeting ongoing neural oscillations and whether their modulation could be relevant for the perception of pain. Specifically, sustained periodic thermonociceptive stimuli have been shown to modulate ongo... | Medical Sciences | Gemma Learmonth | Zoltan Dienes | 2023-03-15 14:41:03 | ||
25 Sep 2023
STAGE 1
Effects of Auditory Stimuli During Submaximal Exercise on Cerebral OxygenationDoes listening to music alter prefrontal cortical activity during exercise?Recommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by David Mehler and 1 anonymous reviewerThe relationship between music and exercise has been studied for over a century, with implications for our understanding of biomechanics, physiology, brain function, and psychology. Listening to music while exercising is associated with a wide range of benefits, from increasing motivation, to reducing perceived exertion, inhibiting awareness of negative bodily signals, boosting mood, and ultimately improving physical performance. But while these ergogenic benefits of music are well documented, much remains to be discovered about how music alters brain function during exercise. One reason for this gap in understanding is the technical difficulty in recording brain activity during realistic exercise, as neuroimaging methods such as fMRI, EEG or MEG typically require participants to remain as still as possible.
In the current study, Guérin et al. (2023) will use the optical brain imaging technique of functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure oxygenation of key brain areas during exercise. Unlike other neuroimaging methods, fNIRS has a high tolerance for motion artefacts, making it the ideal method of choice for the current investigation. The authors propose a series of hypotheses based on previous studies that observed a decrease in cerebral oxygenation during intense exercise, particularly within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). If, as suggested, the prefrontal cortex is important for regulation of cognition and emotion during exercise, then the benefits of listening to music might arise by delaying or reducing this drop in prefrontal oxygenation.
Using a within-subject designs, Guérin et al. will combine an incremental exercise protocol involving a cycling task with three auditory conditions: asynchronous music (the active condition), listening to an audiobook (an auditory control) or silence (baseline control). Compared to the two control conditions, they predict that music exposure will increase oxygenation in prefrontal and parietal regions and will also delay the drop in oxygenation associated with intense exercise (specifically within dlPFC and mPFC). To test whether any such changes are specific for prefrontal and parietal cortex, they will also compare the haemodynamic responses of the occipital cortex between the auditory conditions, predicting no difference.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/52aeb
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References | Effects of Auditory Stimuli During Submaximal Exercise on Cerebral Oxygenation | Dr Ségolène M. R. Guérin, Professor Costas I. Karageorghis, Marine R. Coeugnet, Dr Marcelo Bigliassi and Professor Yvonne N. Delevoye-Turrell | <p>Asynchronous music has been commonly used to reduce perceived exertion and render the exercise experience more pleasant. Research has indicated that in-task asynchronous music can reallocate an individual’s attentional focus to task-unrelated s... | Life Sciences | Chris Chambers | 2023-01-24 12:06:32 |
