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Latest recommendations
| Id | Title | Authors | Abstract | Picture | Thematic fields▼ | Recommender | Reviewers | Submission date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phenomenological Strands for Gaming Disorder and Esports Play: A Qualitative Registered ReportThe lived experience of gamers: a comparative qualitative investigation of treatment-seekers and esports playersRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Malte Elson and Peter Branney
Since 2018, the inclusion of “gaming disorder” in the ICD-11 has been met with a mixture of interest, confusion and controversy (Van Rooij et al, 2018), mirroring broader debates about the effects of gaming on mental health. One of the major gaps in understanding the validity of gaming disorder as an identifiable mental illness is the absence of qualitative studies comparing the lived experience of gamers who seek treatment with esports players who do not report health problems.
Here, Karhulahti et al. (2022) tackle this question in the first of two Stage 2 Registered Reports associated with their previous programmatic Stage 1 submission. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis in gamers and medical experts, they find that treatment-seekers and esports players differ in how gaming is associated with the sense of self, either interfering with the self for treatment-seekers or successfully integrating into the self for esports players. These findings help to identify the key characteristics of problematic and non-problematic gaming and call for more intensive and wide-reaching qualitative research in this area.
Following one round of in-depth review and revision, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria and awarded a positive recommendation.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/a2rwg
Level of bias control achieved: Level 4. At least some of the data/evidence that was used to answer the research question existed prior to in-principle acceptance(IPA) but the authors certify that they did not access any part of that data/evidence prior to IPA.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. van Rooij AJ, Ferguson CJ, Carras MC, Kardefelt-Winther D, Shi J, Aarseth E, Bean AM, Bergmark KH, Brus A, Coulson M, Deleuze J, Dullur P, Dunkels E, Edman J, Elson M, Etchells PJ, Fiskaali A, Granic I, Jansz J, Karlsen F, Kaye LK, Kirsh B, Lieberoth A, Markey P, Mills KL, Nielsen RKL, Orben A, Poulsen A, Prause N, Prax P, Quandt T, Schimmenti A, Starcevic V, Stutman G, Turner NE, Looy J van, Przybylski AK (2018) A weak scientific basis for gaming disorder: Let us err on the side of caution. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.19
2. Karhulahti V-M, Siutila M, Vahlo J, Koskimaa R (2022) Phenomenological Strands for Gaming Disorder and Esports Play: A Qualitative Registered Report. Stage 2 Registered Report, acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/q53jz
| Phenomenological Strands for Gaming Disorder and Esports Play: A Qualitative Registered Report | Veli-Matti Karhulahti, Miia Siutila, Jukka Vahlo, Raine Koskimaa | <p>The recent inclusion of gaming disorder in the ICD-11 as a mental disorder has further increased the importance of researching the health spectrum related to gaming. A critical area in this regard is the lack of clarity concerning the differenc... |  | Medical Sciences, Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2022-06-11 23:49:03 | ||
Removing barriers to plant-based diets: assisting doctors with vegan patientsInforming doctors of the evidence on plant-based dietsRecommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Alaa Aldoh, Joshua Tasoff and Bence Palfi
What the best diet is has always been an area of contention. But one thing is clear: Meat is not necessary for health or fitness, and a diet high in plant proteins may well be especially healthy (e.g. Herpich et al., 2022). Further, plant- rather than animal-based diets leave a lower carbon footprint. So what might hold people back from adopting a plant-based diet? One reason is that people may understandably approach their doctor for advice; and the doctor may advise against it, given that many doctors are not well trained in nutrition (Crowley et al., 2019).
Espinosa et al. (2022) conducted a randomised control trial on French general practitioners with 200 doctors given a leaflet and access to an online platform, and 200 controls. The information in the materials concerned the health benefits of plant-based diets, and what nutrients (e.g. B12) may be deficient and what may not be. Attitudes towards and knowledge about plant-based diets was assessed. On a scale of 0-100% expressing whether they would advise for or against (0 = not at all, 100 = absolutely), the intervention shifted attitudes making them more positive about plant based diets by 17 percentage points. However, knowledge of specifically what is worth testing for (e.g. is zinc deficiency more probable or not?) did not change much. The research shows just what can be achieved by a small leaflet (shifting attitudes) and what may require more extensive training (knowledge of relevant medical practice). The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review. Based on the responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria and awarded a positive recommendation. 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 was used to answer the research question existed prior to Stage 1 in-principle acceptance. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals: References 1. Crowley, J., Ball, L. & Hiddink, G. J. (2019.) Nutrition in medical education: a systematic review. Lancet Planetary Health. 3, e379–e389. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30171-8 2. Herpich, C., Müller-Werdan, U., & Norman, K. (2022). Role of plant-based diets in promoting health and longevity. Maturitas, 165, 47-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2022.07.003
3. Espinosa, R., Arpinon, T., Maginot, P., Demange, S. & Peureux, F. (2022). Removing barriers to plant-based diets: assisting doctors with vegan patients, acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/kq6eh?view_only=66eab29c7acb4aebbcec4631cbcb9217
| Removing barriers to plant-based diets: assisting doctors with vegan patients | Romain Espinosa, Thibaut Arpinon, Paco Maginot, Sébastien Demange, and Florimond Peureux | <p>Shifting to plant-based diets can alleviate many of the externalities associated with the current food<br>system. Spontaneous shifts in diet are often hindered by consumers’ imperfect knowledge about the<br>health risks and benefits, which lead... | Medical Sciences, Social sciences | Zoltan Dienes | 2022-08-27 11:01:32 | |||
Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgeryIs childhood adversity associated with a heightened response to opioids?Recommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Zoltan Dienes, Yuki Yamada and 1 anonymous reviewer
A convergence of evidence suggests that early life adversity may cause dysfunction in opioid-sensitive reward systems. Childhood adversity is associated with opioid use, potentially by altering reward and motivation networks, and experimental models in animals have found that early life adversity increases and consolidates opioid seeking behaviours. Further, in a recent controlled experiment, Carlyle et al. (2021) found that opioid administration produced stronger positive responses, and weaker negative responses, in adults with a history of childhood abuse and neglect.
In the current study, Carlyle et al. (2023) tested the generalisability of these previous findings in a pre-operative clinical setting. Using partially observed data from an existing cohort study (N=155), the authors asked whether patients with greater experience of childhood trauma in turn exhibit a larger mood boost and express greater subjective pleasure following opioid administration.
In contrast to previous findings, the results did not support the hypotheses that more experiences of childhood adversity would heighten ratings of drug liking and feeling good following opioid administration. Regression analyses instead revealed a statistically significant negative association between childhood adversity and post-opioid liking and no significant relationship with feeling good. The authors suggest that the discrepancy between the current and previous results may be due to stress related to the pre-surgical setting, the brief duration of drug exposure, and the relatively limited levels of high childhood adversity in the study sample. Nevertheless, these findings cast some doubt on the theory that adversity elevates risk of opioid addiction by altering sensitivity to subjectively pleasurable effects.
Following one round of in-depth review, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria and awarded a positive recommendation.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/7ymts Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that was used to answer the research question had been accessed and partially observed by the authors prior to IPA, but the authors certify that they had not yet observed the key variables within the data that were used to answer the research question AND they took additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Carlyle M., Broomby R., Simpson G., Hannon R., Fawaz L., Mollaahmetoglu O.M., Drain, J., Mostazir, M., & Morgan C. (2021). A randomised, double‐blind study investigating the relationship between early childhood trauma and the rewarding effects of morphine. Addiction Biology, 26(6):e13047. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.13047
2. Carlyle, M., Kvande, M., Meier, I. M., Trøstheim, M., Buen, K., Jensen, E. N., Ernst, G. & Leknes, S. & Eikemo, M. (2023). Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgery, acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/9kt3a?view_only=4238d2ee3d654c4f908a94efea82a027
| Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgery | Molly Carlyle1*, Malin Kvande*, Isabell M. Meier, Martin Trøstheim, Kaja Buen, Eira Nordeng Jensen, Gernot Ernst, Siri Leknes, Marie Eikemo (*denotes equal contribution) | <p><strong>Introduction</strong>: Opioid analgesic treatment during surgery entails risk of persistent use. Experiences of childhood adversity have been shown to increase opioid reward in preclinical models, a finding recently extended to healthy ... | Medical Sciences, Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2023-02-02 08:29:18 | |||
13 Jul 2023
STAGE 1
Modulatory effects of instructions on extinction efficacy in appetitive and aversive learning: A registered reportNeurocognitive insights on instructed extinction in the context of painRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Tom Beckers, Gaëtan Mertens and Karita Ojala
Rapid learning in response to pain is a crucial survival mechanism, relying on forming associations between cues in the environment and subsequent pain or injury. Existing evidence suggests that associations between conditioned stimuli (cues) and unconditioned aversive stimuli (such as pain) are learned faster than for appetitive stimuli that signal pain relief. In addition, when the link between a conditioned and unconditioned stimulus is broken (by unpairing them), the extinction of this learning effect is slower for aversive that appetitive stimuli, resulting in a flatter extinction slope. Understanding why extinction slopes are reduced for aversive stimuli is important for advancing theoretical models of learning, and for devising ways of increasing the slope (and thus facilitating extinction learning) could help develop more effective methods of pain relief, particularly in the treatment of chronic pain.
In the current programmatic submission, Busch et al. (2023) will undertake two Registered Reports to test whether a verbal instruction intervention that explicitly informs participants about contingency changes between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli facilitates extinction learning, especially for aversive (painful) stimuli, and how changes in extinction learning relate to neural biomarkers of functional connectivity. In the first Registered Report, they will initially seek to replicate previous findings including faster acquisition of aversive than appetitive conditioned stimuli as well as incomplete extinction of aversive conditioned stimuli without verbal instruction. They will then test how the instruction intervention alters extinction slopes and the completeness of extinction for appetitive and aversive stimuli, using a range of behavioral measures (expectancy and valence ratings) and physiological measures (pupillometry, skin conductance responses). To shed light on the neural correlates of these processes, in the second Registered Report the authors will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to ask firstly how acquisition and extinction of aversive and appetitive conditioned responses are related to resting state brain connectivity within a network that includes ventromedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and striatum, and secondly, whether the effectiveness of instruction on extinction learning is associated with differences in resting state connectivity across this network.
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/cj75p (under temporary 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. Busch, L., Wiech, K., Gamer, M., Knicses, B., Spisak, T., Schmidt, K., & Bingel, U. (2023). Modulatory effects of instructions on extinction efficacy in appetitive and aversive learning: A registered report. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/cj75p
| Modulatory effects of instructions on extinction efficacy in appetitive and aversive learning: A registered report | Lea Busch, Katja Wiech, Matthias Gamer, Balint Kincses, Tamas Spisak, Katharina Schmidt, Ulrike Bingel | <p>In the context of pain, extinction learning has been shown to be slower or incomplete for aversive compared to appetitive cues (i.e., cues signaling pain exacerbation and pain relief, respectively), potentially due to their higher biological re... | Medical Sciences | Chris Chambers | 2022-10-15 19:45:48 | |||
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 Praag
Data 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, Abiola Akinnubi | 2022-11-28 10:59:32 | ||
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 Ploner
Recent 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 | ||
Genetically-modified animals as models of neurodevelopmental conditions: a review of systematic review reporting qualityEvidence for mixed quality of systematic reviews in preclinical animal studies of neurodevelopmental conditionsRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Marietta Papadatou-Pastou
Single gene alterations have been estimated to account for nearly half of neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs), providing a crucial opportunity for animal models to understand the underlying mechanisms, causes and potential treatments. The use of systematic reviews (SRs) can, in principle, provide a powerful means to synthesise this evidence-base; however, the reporting quality of previous SRs in preclinical animal research has been found lacking (Hunniford et al., 2021). In the current study, Wilson et al. (2023) will undertook a review of systematic reviews to assess the characteristics and reporting quality of SRs that, in turn, synthesise research in genetically-modified animals to model NDCs. In particular, the authors extracted key features of reviews (including, among others, the aim and primary research questions, relevant animal model, and number of studies in the SR), in addition to quality indicators such as risk of bias and completeness of reporting. In doing so, the authors aimed to enhance guidance on the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews in this area.
Of twelve publications that met the preregistered search criteria, the completeness and quality of reporting was variable. Among the better reported characteristics were search strategies (9 of 12 articles), reporting of funding sources (10 of 12 articles) and use of animal data (11 of 12 articles). In contrast, only two articles reported whether the study protocol was preregistered, only three articles reported methods for assessing risk of bias, and just one included methods to analyse publication bias. In addition, the authors identified 19 review registrations via PROSPERO, most of which remained unpublished after their anticipated end dates. Overall, the results highlight the importance of adherence to reporting guidelines for increasing the transparency and reproducibility of SRs in this field.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses by the authors, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria and awarded a positive recommendation.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/952qk Level of bias control achieved: Level 4. At least some of the data/evidence that was used to answer the research question already existed prior to IPA and was accessible in principle to the authors, but the authors certify that they did not access any part of that data/evidence prior to IPA.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals: References
1. Hunniford V. T., Montroy J., Fergusson D. A., Avey M. T., Wever K. E., McCann S. K., Foster M., Fox G., Lafreniere M., Ghaly M., Mannell S., Godwinska K., Gentles A., Selim S., MacNeil J., Sikora L., Sena E. S., Page M. J., Macleod M., Moher D., & Lalu M. M. (2021). Epidemiology and reporting characteristics of preclinical systematic reviews. PLOS Biology, 19:e3001177. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001177
2. Wilson, E., Currie, G., Macleod, M., Kind, P. & Sena, E. S. (2023). Genetically-modified animals as models of neurodevelopmental conditions: a review of systematic review reporting quality [Stage 2]. Acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/s5xd4
| Genetically-modified animals as models of neurodevelopmental conditions: a review of systematic review reporting quality | Emma Wilson, Gillian Currie, Malcolm Macleod, Peter Kind, and Emily S Sena | <p><strong>Objective</strong><br>Using genetically-modified animals to model neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) helps better our understanding of biology underlying these conditions. Animal research has unique characteristics not shared with cli... | Medical Sciences | Chris Chambers | 2023-11-22 10:26:44 | |||
29 Sep 2021
STAGE 1
Evaluating the pedagogical effectiveness of study preregistration in the undergraduate dissertation: A Registered ReportDoes incorporating open research practices into the undergraduate curriculum decrease questionable research practices?Recommended by Corina Logan and Chris Chambers based on reviews by Kelsey McCune, Neil Lewis, Jr., Lisa Spitzer and 1 anonymous reviewer
In a time when open research practices are becoming more widely used to combat questionable research practices (QRPs) in academia, this Stage 1 Registered Report by Pownall and colleagues (2021) will empirically investigate the practice of preregistering study plans, which will allow us to better understand to what degree such practices increase awareness of QRPs and whether experience with preregistration helps reduce engagement in QRPs. This investigation is timely because results from these kinds of studies are only recently becoming available and the conclusions are providing evidence that open research practices can improve research quality and reliability (e.g., Soderberg et al. 2020, Chambers & Tzavella 2021). The authors crucially focus on the effect of preregistering the undergraduate senior thesis (of psychology students in the UK), which is a key stage in the development of an academic. This data will help shape the future of how we should teach open research practices and what effect we as teachers can have on budding research careers. The five expert peer reviews were of an extremely high quality and were very thorough. The authors did an excellent job of addressing all of the comments in their responses and revised manuscript versions, which resulted in only one round of peer review, plus a second revision based on Recommender feedback. As such, this registered report meets the Stage 1 criteria and is therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA). We wish the authors the best of luck with the study and we look forward to seeing the results. URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/9hjbw 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
| Evaluating the pedagogical effectiveness of study preregistration in the undergraduate dissertation: A Registered Report | Madeleine Pownall; Charlotte R. Pennington; Emma Norris; Kait Clark | <p style="text-align: justify;">Research shows that questionable research practices (QRPs) are present in undergraduate final-year dissertation projects. One entry-level Open Science practice proposed to mitigate QRPs is ‘study preregistration’, t... | Life Sciences, Social sciences | Corina Logan | 2021-07-08 15:27:24 | |||
22 Nov 2022
STAGE 1
Estimating the Effect of Reward on Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation – A Registered ReportHow does reward influence the effect of sleep on memory?Recommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by 2 anonymous reviewers
Sleep and reward each have an important role in human memory. According to the active system consolidation hypothesis, memory consolidation during sleep originates from the repeated reactivation of memory representations that were encoded during wake (Rasch & Born, 2013). Research has also consistently shown that memory performance is enhanced for items or stimuli associated with higher vs. lower rewards. While these lines of evidence are relatively clear, the role of sleep in shaping the interaction between reward and memory is more opaque, likely due to a combination of methodological variation between studies but also due to the field’s reliance on small-N designs and biased reporting practices. Clarifying this three-way relationship, and setting field benchmarks for effect sizes, is crucial not only for building richer neurocognitive models of memory, but for clinical applications such as targeted sleep interventions to treat addiction and other forms of mental illness.
Using a large, stratified online German sample (N=1750), Morgan et al. (2022) will study the three-way relationship between sleep, reward and memory by asking whether, and if so how, reward influences the magnitude of sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Using an AM:PM-PM:AM design in combination with a motivated learning task, the authors will address three main questions: first, whether sleep yields greater memory performance compared to an equivalent period of wake; second whether information associated with higher reward leads to greater memory performance compared to lower reward; and third, the crucial interaction of whether sleep causes greater recognition memory performance for higher vs. lower reward items. The design also includes a series of rigorous positive controls to confirm testability of the hypotheses, while measuring a host of additional moderating variables for exploratory analyses (including age, education status, mental health, and more).
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/q5pk8
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. Rasch, B. & Born, J. (2013). About Sleep's Role in Memory. Physiological Revews, 93, 681–766. https://doi.org/10.1152%2Fphysrev.00032.2012
2. Morgan, D. P., Nagel, J., Cagatay Gürsoy, N., Kern, S. & Feld, G. B. (2022). Estimating the effect of reward on sleep-dependent memory consolidation – A Registered Report, in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/q5pk8
| Estimating the Effect of Reward on Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation – A Registered Report | David P. Morgan, Juliane Nagel, N. Cagatay Gürsoy, Simon Kern & Gordon B. Feld | <p>Rewards play an important role in guiding which memories are formed. Dopamine has been shown to be an important neuromodulator mediating the effect of rewards on memory. In rodents dopaminergic activity during learning has been shown to enhance... | Life Sciences, Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2022-05-16 10:12:18 | |||
04 Dec 2023
STAGE 1
Cerebral laterality as assessed by functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound in left-and right-handers: A comparison between handwriting and writing using a smartphoneDoes typing on a smartphone involve the same neural mechanisms as writing by hand?Recommended by D. Samuel Schwarzkopf based on reviews by Todd Richards and Dorothy Bishop
Language production is associated with a distinct lateralised pattern of brain activation biased toward the left cerebral hemisphere. This also applies to writing. It has also been shown to be modulated by handedness, with less pronounced lateralisation in left-handers. However, in recent decades the use of handwriting has declined significantly while the use of smartphones has exploded. To date, no study has explored whether the same neural correlates of written language production found for handwriting also hold for typing on a smartphone.
In the current study, Samsouris et al. (2023) will use functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound (fTCD) to measure blood flow velocity within cerebral hemispheres to investigate this question. This technique is particularly suited for this purpose because it provides better control for the movement confounds associated with a writing task and the technical challenges of using a smart device than other neuroimaging techniques like fMRI or M/EEG. The authors hypothesise that there will be no difference in left cerebral lateralisation for handwriting and typing on a smartphone. They also expect to replicate previous findings of weaker lateralisation in left-handers in written language production when typing on a smartphone. To isolate the effect of written language production, both these conditions will be corrected for their corresponding motor component using control conditions without a linguistic component.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over 6 rounds of in-depth review by the recommender and two expert reviewers, before issuing in-principle acceptance.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/j7egz
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. Samsouris, C., Badcock, N. A., Vlachos, F., & Papadatou-Pastou, M. (2023). Cerebral laterality as assessed by functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound in left-and right-handers: A comparison between handwriting and writing using a smartphone. In principle acceptance of Version 7 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/j7egz
| Cerebral laterality as assessed by functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound in left-and right-handers: A comparison between handwriting and writing using a smartphone | Christos Samsouris, Nicholas A. Badcock, Filippos Vlachos, Marietta Papadatou-Pastou | <p>Neuroscientific studies of traditional handwriting have revealed a left cerebral lateralization pattern for written language production, with distinct patterns between left- and right-handers. However, no study to date has investigated the cere... | Life Sciences, Social sciences | D. Samuel Schwarzkopf | 2022-11-01 10:27:39 |
