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Latest recommendations
| Id | Title * | Authors * | Abstract * | Picture | Thematic fields * ▼ | Recommender | Reviewers | Submission date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | Abiola Akinnubi , Catherine Morgan, Cassandra Gould van Praag | 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 | ||
22 Nov 2024
STAGE 1
Sugary drinks devaluation with response training helps to resist to their consumptionCan gamified response training with sugary drinks help people to resist consumption?Recommended by Zhang Chen based on reviews by Loukia Tzavella, Matthias Aulbach and Pieter Van Dessel
The excessive consumption of energy-dense but nutrient-poor foods and drinks can lead to many health problems. There is thus an increasing need for tools that may help people reduce the consumption of such foods and drinks. Training people to consistently respond or not respond to food items has been shown to reliably change their subjective evaluations of and choices for these items, mostly within laboratory settings. However, evidence on whether such trainings can also modify real consumption behavior remains mixed.
Najberg et al. developed a mobile-based response training game that combines two training tasks, one in which people consistently do not respond to sugary drinks (i.e., the go/no-go training), and one in which they consistently respond to water items rapidly (i.e., the cue-approach training). Recent work showed that after the training, participants in the experimental group reported more reduction in liking for sugary drinks and more increase in liking for water items compared to the control group. However, both groups showed equivalent reduction in self-reported consumption of sugary drinks (Najberg et al. 2023a). In the current study, Najberg and colleagues will further examine the efficacy of the gamified response training, by testing whether the training can help people resist the consumption of sugary drinks (Najberg et al. 2023b). Participants will be divided into experimental and control groups, and will receive the respective training for a minimum of seven days (and up to 20 days). After completing the training, they will be asked to avoid the trained sugary drinks, and the number of days in which they successfully adhere to this restrictive diet will be used as the dependent variable. Reporting the time at which one consumed a certain drink is presumably easier than reporting the exact volume consumed (cf. Najberg et al. 2023a). Furthermore, certain diets may require people to avoid specific foods and drinks entirely, rather than merely reduce the amount of consumption. Examining whether the training will be effective in this setting will therefore be informative. The authors will additionally examine whether the amount of training one completes, and the changes in subjective valuation of drinks after training, will be correlated with the successful avoidance of sugary drinks. These results will offer insights into the underlying mechanisms of the training and provide guidance on how they may best be implemented in applied settings. This Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over three rounds of in-depth reviews by three expert reviewers and the recommender. 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/97aez
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:
1. Najberg, H., Mouthon, M., Coppin, G., & Spierer, L. (2023a). Reduction in sugar drink valuation and consumption with gamified executive control training. Scientific Reports, 13, 10659. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36859-x
2. Najberg, H., Tapparel, M., & Spierer, L. (2023b). Sugary drinks devaluation with response training helps to resist their consumption. In principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/97aez | Sugary drinks devaluation with response training helps to resist to their consumption | Hugo Najberg, Malika Tapparel, Lucas Spierer | <p style="text-align: justify;">Food response training has been shown to reduce the reported value of palatable food items. These approaches may thus help to reduce unhealthy (over)consumption behaviors and its related diseases. Yet, whether and h... | Medical Sciences | Zhang Chen | 2023-06-22 12:01:20 | |||
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 | |||
31 Dec 2024
STAGE 1
Allostatic Interoception in Frontotemporal Dementia: A Scoping Review ProtocolWhat is the evidence for interoceptive and allostatic dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia?Recommended by Mateo Leganes-Fonteneau based on reviews by Mallory Feldman, Eliza Bliss-Moreau and 1 anonymous reviewer
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) refers to a range of neurodegenerative diseases involving progressive deterioration of frontal and temporal brain networks. This scoping review protocol by Carneiro et al. (2024) promises to make a valuable contribution to the conceptualization of dysregulated interoception (the ability to sense and interpret internal bodily signals) and allostasis (anticipation and adjustment of energy use in response to environmental demands) in the context of FTD. The work also has broader implications, potentially offering key insights into the interplay between sensory and regulatory signals, which hold relevance not only for dementia but also for other mental disorders characterized by maladaptive allostatic adaptations, such as addiction. This broader applicability underscores the potential impact of the review across multiple domains of mental health research.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to reviewers’ and the recommender’s comments, 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/skebz 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. List of eligible PCI-RR-friendly journals: References Carneiro, F., Hazelton, J. L., Campos, C., Ibáñez, A., & Ferreira-Santos, F. (2024). Allostatic interoception in frontotemporal dementia: a scoping review protocol. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/skebz
| Allostatic Interoception in Frontotemporal Dementia: A Scoping Review Protocol | Fábio Carneiro, Jessica L. Hazelton, Carlos Campos, Agustín Ibáñez, Fernando Ferreira-Santos | <p>Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) encompasses a spectrum of disorders characterized by distinct behavioral, cognitive, and motor symptoms. Deficits in interoception and allostasis have garnered attention, considering the involvement of the allostat... | Medical Sciences | Mateo Leganes-Fonteneau | 2024-03-08 19:37:35 | |||
08 Mar 2025
STAGE 1
Noninvasive Neuromodulation of Visual Perception and Neural Connectivity in Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Registered ReportUnderstanding the combined effects of brain stimulation and visual attention modification in body dysmorphic disorderRecommended by Anna Elisabeth Fürtjes based on reviews by Samuel Westwood and 1 anonymous reviewer
This study by Diaz-Fong et al. (2025) plans to investigate body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), an understudied psychiatric condition marked by distortions in the perception of a patients’ physical appearance. The authors build on evidence that perceptual symptoms in BDD are underpinned by attentional biases, which may relate to abnormal visual processing and neural connectivity in the dorsal visual stream (DVS; reduced activation) and the ventral visual stream (VVS; increased activation). Prior evidence suggests that activation in the DVS and the VVS may be modifiable by both non-invasive neuromodulation (including transcranial magnetic stimulation), as well as behavioural interventions such as the Visual Modification (ModV) paradigm, which has been suggested to reduce patients’ foveal attention to perceived bodily defects. The ModV paradigm has been specifically linked with altered VVS and DVS activation and connectivity.
Here the authors will test in a within-subject crossover design (N = 40) whether neural connectivity and visual perceptual biases in BDD and subclinical BDD can be modified by combining the effects of altered visual attention in the ModV paradigm with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (continuous and intermittent theta burst stimulation; cTBS and iTBS). By combining a behavioural and an exogenous intervention, the authors predict an increase in the magnitude of clinically meaningful improvements in attentional biases in BDD, with iTBS expected to enhance, and cTBS expected to inhibit the effects of visual attention modification through ModV on neural connectivity (measured using fMRI) and visual processing. More specifically, the effect of TBS is hypothesised to be stronger after patients perform ModV.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated by two experts who performed in-depth peer review across multiple rounds of revisions. The authors were responsive in editing their manuscript based on the reviewers’ comments and dedicated much effort to increasing the clarity and interpretability of their power analyses. The revised manuscript was judged to meet the Stage 1 criteria and was awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/ks425 (under temporary private embargo)
Level of bias control achieved: Level 3. At least some data/evidence that will be used to the answer the research question has been previously accessed by the authors (e.g. downloaded or otherwise received), but the authors certify that they have not yet observed any part of the data/evidence. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
Diaz-Fong, J. P., Lewis, M., Qian, J., Wong, W.-W., Leuchter, A. F., Tadayonnejad, R., Voineskos, D., Konstantinou, G., Lam, E., Blumberger, D. M., Feusner, J. D. (2025). Noninvasive neuromodulation of visual perception and neural connectivity in body dysmorphic disorder: a registered report. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/ks425
| Noninvasive Neuromodulation of Visual Perception and Neural Connectivity in Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Registered Report | Joel P. Diaz-Fong, Madison Lewis, Jessica Qian, Wan-Wa Wong, Andrew F. Leuchter, Reza Tadayonnejad, Daphne Voineskos, Gerasimos Konstantinou, Eileen Lam, Daniel M. Blumberger, Jamie D. Feusner | <p>Body dysmorphic disorder is a debilitating and understudied psychiatric condition characterized by perceptual distortions pertaining to one’s physical appearance. Current evidence suggests that abnormalities in visual processing likely underlie... | Medical Sciences | Anna Elisabeth Fürtjes | Samuel Westwood, Yang Dan, Steven Cohen, Song Luan, Micheal Fox, Philip Lewis, David A. McCormick, Tim Constandinou, Andreas Horn, Anonymous, Biyu He, Paul Fitzgerald | 2024-05-02 01:31:43 | ||
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 |
