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Latest recommendations
| Id | Title * | Authors * | Abstract * | Picture | Thematic fields * ▲ | Recommender | Reviewers | Submission date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 Nov 2023
STAGE 1
The effect of stimulus saliency on the modulation of pain-related ongoing neural oscillations: a Registered ReportAre there oscillatory markers of pain intensity?Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Markus Ploner and Björn Horing
Rhythmic changes in pain can lead to corresponding modulations of EEG amplitudes in theta, alpha, and beta bands. But the question remains open as to whether these modulations are actually tracking pain, or maybe rather saliency or stimulus intensity. The question is of some importance because a marker of pain per se could be useful for tracking felt pain without a verbal response, and could be useful in investigating interventions for treating pain (such as suggestion). Here, Leu et al. (2023) will address the question of whether modulations reflect saliency or else the intensity of pain, by using an oddball paradigm in which most trials are a pain stimulus of a certain intensity, and oddball trials will sometimes occur, at either a higher intensity or a lower intensity than the baseline ones. If the modulations reflect salience, the modulation at the frequency of the oddball will be similar for high and low intensity oddballs. However, if the modulations reflect pain intensity, the modulations for the low rather than high oddball condition will be lower.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over three rounds of in-depth peer review, the first two consisting of substantial comments from two scholars with relevant expertise, and the third consisting of a close review by the recommender. 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/qbrf2
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., Forest, S., Legrain, V., & Liberati, G. (2023). The effect of stimulus saliency on the modulation of pain-related ongoing neural oscillations: a Registered Report. In principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/qbrf2 | The effect of stimulus saliency on the modulation of pain-related ongoing neural oscillations: a Registered Report | Chiara Leu, Sébastien Forest, Valéry Legrain, Giulia Liberati | <p>Ongoing oscillations have been shown to be modulated in different frequency bands following phasic, tonic as well as periodic thermonociceptive stimulation. Yet, it remains unclear whether these modulations are related to pain perception, salie... | Life Sciences, Medical Sciences | Zoltan Dienes | 2023-09-06 15:15:19 | |||
Functional MRI brain state occupancy in the presence of cerebral small vessel disease -- a pre-registered replication analysis of the Hamburg City Health StudyReplicable dynamic functional connectivity and cognitive correlates of cerebral small vessel disease in the Hamburg City Health StudyRecommended by Robert McIntosh based on reviews by 1 anonymous reviewer
In a previous analysis of data from 988 participants in the Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS), Schlemm and colleagues (2022) reported significant associations between the extent of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) and dynamic functional connectivity measures from resting state fMRI. Specifically, the volume of white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin, a structural indicator of cSVD, was negatively related to the proportion of time (‘fractional occupancy’) spent in the two most occupied functional brain states. Reduced fractional occupancy was also associated with longer times to complete part B of the Trail Making Test.
In the present Registered Report, Ingwersen and colleagues (2023) successfully replicated these associations between structural, functional and cognitive measures in a sample of 1651 HCHS participants not included in the earlier study. An exploratory multiverse analysis found that the associations were generally robust to different brain parcellation and confound regression strategies. These replicable patterns reinforce the idea that cSVD may disrupt the brain’s ability to enter and maintain distinct functional modes, and that these changes in functional dynamics are predictive of cognitive impairment.
The Stage 2 manuscript was assessed over one round of in-depth review. The recommender judged that responses to reviewer comments were appropriate, and that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria for recommendation.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/9yhzc
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 Stage 1 in-principle acceptance, 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. Schlemm, E., Frey, B. M., Mayer, C., Petersen, M., Fiehler, J., Hanning, U., Kühn, S., Twerenbold, R., Gallinat, J., Gerloff, C., Thomalla, G. & Cheng, B. (2022). Equalization of brain state occupancy accompanies cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease. Biological Psychiatry, 92, 592-602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.03.019
2. Ingwersen, T., Mayer, C., Petersen, M., Frey, B. M., Fiehler, J., Hanning, U., Kühn, S., Gallinat, J., Twerenbold, R., Gerloff, C., Cheng, B., Thomalla, G. & Schlemm, E. (2023). Functional MRI brain state occupancy in the presence of cerebral small vessel disease -- a pre-registered replication analysis of the Hamburg City Health Study. Acceptance of Version 2.01 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://github.com/csi-hamburg/HCHS-brain-states-RR/blob/f9d00adbbcf9593d8d191bf5b93912141b80ab1b/manuscript/build/main.pdf
| Functional MRI brain state occupancy in the presence of cerebral small vessel disease -- a pre-registered replication analysis of the Hamburg City Health Study | Thies Ingwersen, Carola Mayer, Marvin Petersen, Benedikt M. Frey, Jens Fiehler, Uta Hanning, Simone Kühn, Jürgen Gallinat, Raphael Twerenbold, Christian Gerloff, Bastian Cheng, Götz Thomalla, Eckhard Schlemm, | <p><strong>Objective</strong>: To replicate recent findings on the association between the extent of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), functional brain network dedifferentiation, and cognitive impairment.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> We a... | Life Sciences, Medical Sciences | Robert McIntosh | 2023-10-17 09:53:02 | |||
Cue-based modulation of pain stimulus expectation: do ongoing oscillations reflect changes in pain perception? A Registered ReportUnderstanding 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 modulated expectations of pain (low or high intensity) in 40 participants prior to delivering thermal cutaneous stimulation (low, medium or high intensity). They recorded how intense participants expected the pain to be, and how intense they felt it to be, as well as EEG to assess oscillatory differences across the expectation and intensity conditions.
The results confirmed that there was a strong effect of expectation on the perceived stimulus intensity. However, contrary to the hypotheses, this was not reflected in the cortical oscillations. Overall this indicates a possible dissociation between perceived pain and modulation of ongoing oscillations in the theta, alpha and beta bands.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review. Based on detailed 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/y6fb8
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that was used to answer the research question was 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? [Stage 2] Acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/awrge | Cue-based modulation of pain stimulus expectation: do ongoing oscillations reflect changes in pain perception? A Registered Report | Chiara Leu, Esther Glineur, Giulia Liberati | <p style="text-align: justify;">A promising stream of investigations is targeting ongoing neural oscillations and whether their modulation could be related to the perception of pain. Using an electroencephalography (EEG) frequency tagging approach... | Life Sciences, Medical Sciences | Gemma Learmonth | 2024-01-23 19:35:39 | |||
22 Jul 2024
STAGE 1
Replication of “Carbon-Dot-Based Dual-Emission Nanohybrid Produces a Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor for In Vivo Imaging of Cellular Copper Ions”Replicating, Revising and Reforming: Unpicking the Apparent Nanoparticle Endosomal Escape ParadoxRecommended by Emily Linnane and Yuki Yamada based on reviews by Cecilia Menard-Moyon and Zeljka Krpetic
Context
Over the past decade there has been an exponential increase in the number of research papers utlising nanoparticles for biological applications such as intracellular sensing [1, 2], theranostics [3-5] and more recently drug delivery and precision medicine [6, 7]. Despite the success stories, there is a disconnect regarding current dogma on issues such as nanoparticle uptake and trafficking, nanoparticle delivery via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, and endosomal escape. Critical re-evaluation of these concepts both conceptually and experimentally is needed for continued advancement in the field.
For this preregistration, Said et al. (2024) focus on nanoparticle intracellular trafficking, specifically endosomal escape [8]. The current consensus in the literature is that nanoparticles enter cells via endocytosis [9, 10] but reportedly just 1-2% of nanoparticles/ nanoparticle probes escape endosomes and enter the cytoplasm [11-13]. There is therefore an apparent paradox over how sensing nanoparticles can detect their intended targets in the cytoplasm if they are trapped within the cell endosomes. To address this fundamental issue of nanoparticle endosomal escape, Lévy and coworkers are carrying out replication studies to thoroughly and transparently replicate the most influential papers in the field of nanoparticle sensing. The aim of these replication studies is twofold: to establish a robust methodology to study endosomal escape of nanoparticles, and to encourage discussions, transparency and a step-change in the field.
Replication of “Carbon-Dot-Based Dual-Emission Nanohybrid Produces a Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor for In Vivo Imaging of Cellular Copper Ions”
For this replication study, the authors classified papers on the topic of nanoparticle sensing and subsequently ranked them by number of citations. Based on this evaluation they selected a paper by Zhu and colleagues [14] entitled “Carbon-Dot-Based Dual-Emission Nanohybrid Produces a Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor for In Vivo Imaging of Cellular Copper Ions” for their seminal replication study. To determine the reproducibility of the results from Zhu et al., the authors aim to establish the proportion of endosomal escape of the nanoparticles, and to examine the data in a biological context relevant to the application of the probe.
Beyond Replication
The authors plan to replicate the exact conditions reported in the materials and methods section of the selected paper such as nanoparticle probe synthesis of CdSe@C-TPEA nanoparticles, assessment of particle size, stability and reactivity and effect on cells (TEM, pH experiments, fluorescent responsivity to metal ions and cell viability). In addition, Said et al., plan to include further experimental characterisation to complement the existing study by Zhu and colleagues. They will incorporate additional controls and methodology to determine the intracellular location of nanoparticle probes in cells including: quantifying excess fluorescence in the culture medium, live cell imaging analysis, immunofluorescence with endosomal and lysosomal markers, and electron microscopy of cell sections. The authors will also include supplementary viability studies to assess the impact of the nanoparticles on HeLa cells as well as an additional biologically relevant cell line (for use in conjunction with the HeLa cells as per the original paper).
The Stage 1 manuscript underwent two rounds of thorough in-depth review. After considering the detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommenders determined that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
The authors have thoughtfully considered their experimental approach to the replication study, whilst acknowledging any potential limitations. Given that conducting such a replication study is novel in the field of Nanotechnology and there is currently no ‘gold standard’ approach in doing so, the authors have showed thoughtful regard of statistical analysis and unbiased methodology where possible.
Based on current information, this study is the first use of preregistration via Peer Community in Registered Reports and the first formalised replication study in Nanotechnology for Biosciences. The outcomes of this of this study will be significant both scientifically and in the wider context in discussion of the scientific method.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/qbxpf
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. Howes, P. D., Chandrawati, R., & Stevens, M. M. (2014). Colloidal nanoparticles as advanced biological sensors. Science, 346(6205), 1247390. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1247390
2. Liu, C. G., Han, Y. H., Kankala, R. K., Wang, S. B., & Chen, A. Z. (2020). Subcellular performance of nanoparticles in cancer therapy. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 675-704. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S226186
3. Tang, W., Fan, W., Lau, J., Deng, L., Shen, Z., & Chen, X. (2019). Emerging blood–brain-barrier-crossing nanotechnology for brain cancer theranostics. Chemical Society Reviews, 48(11), 2967-3014. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CS00805A
4. Yoon, Y. I., Pang, X., Jung, S., Zhang, G., Kong, M., Liu, G., & Chen, X. (2018). Smart gold nanoparticle-stabilized ultrasound microbubbles as cancer theranostics. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 6(20), 3235-3239. https://doi.org/10.1039%2FC8TB00368H
5. Lin, H., Chen, Y., & Shi, J. (2018). Nanoparticle-triggered in situ catalytic chemical reactions for tumour-specific therapy. Chemical Society Reviews, 47(6), 1938-1958. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7CS00471K
6. Hou, X., Zaks, T., Langer, R., & Dong, Y. (2021). Lipid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery. Nature Reviews Materials, 6(12), 1078-1094. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-021-00358-0
7. Mitchell, M. J., Billingsley, M. M., Haley, R. M., Wechsler, M. E., Peppas, N. A., & Langer, R. (2021). Engineering precision nanoparticles for drug delivery. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 20(2), 101-124. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-020-0090-8
8. Said, M., Gharib, M., Zrig, S., & Lévy, R. (2024). Replication of “Carbon-Dot-Based Dual-Emission Nanohybrid Produces a Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor for In Vivo Imaging of Cellular Copper Ions”. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/qbxpf
9. Behzadi, S., Serpooshan, V., Tao, W., Hamaly, M. A., Alkawareek, M. Y., Dreaden, E. C., ... & Mahmoudi, M. (2017). Cellular uptake of nanoparticles: Journey inside the cell. Chemical Society Reviews, 46(14), 4218-4244. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6CS00636A
10. de Almeida, M. S., Susnik, E., Drasler, B., Taladriz-Blanco, P., Petri-Fink, A., & Rothen-Rutishauser, B. (2021). Understanding nanoparticle endocytosis to improve targeting strategies in nanomedicine. Chemical society reviews, 50(9), 5397-5434. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CS01127D
11. Smith, S. A., Selby, L. I., Johnston, A. P., & Such, G. K. (2018). The endosomal escape of nanoparticles: toward more efficient cellular delivery. Bioconjugate Chemistry, 30(2), 263-272. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.8b00732
12. Cupic, K. I., Rennick, J. J., Johnston, A. P., & Such, G. K. (2019). Controlling endosomal escape using nanoparticle composition: current progress and future perspectives. Nanomedicine, 14(2), 215-223. https://doi.org/10.2217/nnm-2018-0326
13. Wang, Y., & Huang, L. (2013). A window onto siRNA delivery. Nature Biotechnology, 31(7), 611-612. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.2634
14. Zhu, A., Qu, Q., Shao, X., Kong, B., & Tian, Y. (2012). Carbon-dot-based dual-emission nanohybrid produces a ratiometric fluorescent sensor for in vivo imaging of cellular copper ions. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English), 51(29), 7185-7189. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201109089
| Replication of “Carbon-Dot-Based Dual-Emission Nanohybrid Produces a Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor for In Vivo Imaging of Cellular Copper Ions” | Maha Said, Mustafa Gharib, Samia Zrig, Raphaël Lévy | <p>In hundreds of articles published over the past two decades, nanoparticles have been described as probes for sensing and imaging of a variety of intracellular cytosolic targets. However, nanoparticles generally enter cells by endocytosis with o... | | Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Physical Sciences | Emily Linnane | 2023-11-29 19:14:03 | ||
24 Oct 2022
STAGE 1
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. seek to test 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 will test whether patients with greater experience of childhood trauma in turn exhibit a larger mood boost and express greater subjective pleasure following opioid administration. Although not a randomised experimental design, this study provides the opportunity to examine the relationship between opioid response and history of childhood adversity in a naturalistic setting, and thus has the potential to either support or cast doubt on the theory that adversity elevates risk of opioid addiction by altering sensitivity to subjectively pleasurable effects.
Following three rounds of in-depth review, 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/7ymts 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. 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.
2. Carlyle, M., Kvande, M., Leknes, S., Meier, I., Buen, K., Jensen, E. N., Ernst, G. & Eikemo, M. (2022). Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgery, in principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/7ymts
| Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgery | Molly Carlyle*, Malin Kvande*, Siri Leknes, Isabell Meier, Kaja Buen, Eira Nordeng Jensen, Gernot Ernst, Marie Eikemo. *denotes equal contribution. | <p>PCI-RR Snapshot only</p> | Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2022-03-15 10:07:29 | |||
30 May 2024
STAGE 1
The role of resource dynamics in the distribution of life cycles within a female human populationAn agent-based model of the role of resource dynamics and the environment in human female life cyclesRecommended by Claudio Tennie based on reviews by Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias and 1 anonymous reviewer
Among primates, the human female life cycle appears special. Aspects of these life cycles have been linked to the acquisition and distribution of resources and to environmental factors, as well as to individual differences across human females. Many questions remain regarding the causal roles that these (or also other) factors might have played in the evolution of human female life cycles – and also whether generalizing statements about these life cycles can adequately capture the wide range of the observed phenomena.
In the current study, Varas Enriquez et al. (2024) outline a plan for an agent-based model approach to study the factors that guide and channel variability in female life cycles in humans (within biological constraints), via the effects that their model will capture. The authors’ model has a particular eye towards the effects of resource dynamics (resource production and resource transfers) and environmental conditions – and their interplay. The results of this agent based model will be thoroughly analysed to better understand the evolution of the specific female human life cycle range.
The study plan was refined after one round of review, which led to input from two external reviewers and the recommender. The revised (second) version was judged to satisfy the Stage 1 criteria for in-principle acceptance.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/24c7z
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
Varas Enríquez, P. J., Lukas, D., Colleran, H, Mulder, M. B., & Redhead, D. (2024) The role of resource dynamics in the distribution of life cycles within a female human population. In principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/24c7z
| The role of resource dynamics in the distribution of life cycles within a female human population | Pablo J. Varas Enríquez, Daniel Redhead, Monique Borgerhoff Mulder, Heidi Colleran, Dieter Lukas | <p>The evolution of the female human life cycle, which is characterised by having a reproductive career nested within juvenile and post-reproductive periods, has been linked to the surplus of adult resource production and downwards inter-generatio... | | Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Social sciences | Claudio Tennie | 2023-11-13 15:45:52 | ||
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 | |||
20 Apr 2023
STAGE 1
Oxytocin, individual differences, and trust game behavior: a registered large-scale replicationDoes oxytocin enhance pro-social behaviors?Recommended by Romain Espinosa based on reviews by Thibaut Arpinon and 1 anonymous reviewer
Trust is a fundamental element for the well-functioning of our society. By achieving large levels of trust, societies can reduce monitoring costs (e.g., contract supervision, conflict resolution) and increase investments in more profitable but socially riskier projects. Trust serves as a way to foster cooperation among individuals and can benefit the entire social group.
As a result, numerous researchers have sought to explore the biological foundations of trust. In particular, several research teams have tried to explore the role of oxytocin in modulating prosocial behaviors. However, previous research findings obtained mixed findings, and several methodological issues, such as low statistical power, have hindered the development of a definite view on the matter.
In the current study, Kroll et al. (2023) seek to replicate the seminal study of Kosfeld et al. (2005). Kosfeld and co-authors originally found that the intranasal administration of oxytocin can significantly increase trust among individuals. However, recent replication evidence shows no general effect of oxytocin on pro-social behaviors or suggests that the effect might be heterogeneous among social groups (Declerck et al., 2020). The objective of the current study of Kroll et al. (2023) is twofold. First, the authors propose to replicate the original study of Kosfeld et al. (2005) and to investigate whether the lack of replication can be due to an overall effect that is smaller than the original findings suggest. Second, the authors propose to replicate recent but exploratory results on the heterogeneous effect of oxytocin on pro-social choices.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over one round 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/h5gdp
Level of bias control achieved: Level 4. At least some of the data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question already exists AND is accessible in principle to the authors (e.g. residing in a public database or with a colleague) BUT the authors certify that they have not yet accessed any part of that data/evidence.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References:
1. Declerck, C. H., Boone, C., Pauwels, L., Vogt, B., & Fehr, E. (2020). A registered replication study on oxytocin and trust. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(6), 646–655. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0878-x
2. Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2005). Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature, 435(7042), 673–676. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03701
3. Kroll, C. F., Schruers, K., Viechtbauer, W., Vingerhoets, C., Seidel, L., Riedl, A. & Hernaus, D. (2023). Oxytocin, individual differences, and trust game behavior: a registered large-scale replication, in principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/h5gdp
| Oxytocin, individual differences, and trust game behavior: a registered large-scale replication | Charlotte F. Kroll, Koen Schruers, Wolfgang Viechtbauer, Claudia Vingerhoets, Leonie Seidel, Arno Riedl, and Dennis Hernaus | <p>The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is thought to modulate important aspects of prosocial behavior. In a seminal paper, Kosfeld et al. (2005) reported that intranasally administered OXT modulated trusting behavior in an economic trust game. Several... | Life Sciences, Social sciences | Romain Espinosa | 2022-11-25 18:07:23 |
