Meta-research in the field of Fear Conditioning, Extinction and Return of fear

心理学和神经科学的研究目前正面临着一场关于研究实践和如何提高可复制性的辩论，这一辩论有时被称为“复制危机”。这创造了一个新兴的研究领域：旨在（建设性地）评估研究方法的元研究。本建议从建设性和实证的角度解决恐惧制约研究领域的两个紧迫的元研究问题。这些问题部分源于DFG资助的科学网络背景下的讨论。首先，在恐惧制约研究领域中，关键结果变量的操作存在很大的异质性，这里以皮肤电导反应为例进行说明。这是对研究的可重复性和可比性的挑战，因此阻碍了该领域的进展。本提案旨在提供独立的比较实证研究，并将该领域聚集在一起，讨论关键结果变量的可操作性，并对不同可操作性特征和决策的利弊进行建设性的讨论。为此，将采用多元宇宙和规格曲线分析。作为次要目的，本比较工作还针对恐惧条件反射中的个体差异研究问题。第三，有人建议在研究后期实验阶段（回忆或恐惧回归测试）的表现时，定期“纠正”恐惧习得训练中的表现。然而，这一建议建立在恐惧习得表现预测随后的测试表现的假设之上——这既不符合主流理论，也不符合实证研究结果。因此，我将调查等级-位置稳定性（在一个结果测量范围内）或其在实验阶段的缺失是否可以作为恐惧条件反射研究中尚未考虑的信息读出。我认为，它可能捕捉到时间动态，并可能作为一种尚未缺失的巩固效力的读出。该项目的总体目标是建立和巩固恐惧制约研究领域的元科学研究，以提高研究结果的可重复性和最终的临床转化。

Research in the psychology and in neuroscience is at present facing a debate on research practices and how to improve replicability which has emerged from what is sometimes referred to as a ‘replication crisis’. This has created the nascent research field: meta-research which aims to (constructively) evaluate research methods. This proposal addresses two urgent meta-research questions in the field of fear conditioning research from a constructive, and empirical perspective. The questions originate in part from discussions in the context of a DFG funded Scientific Network.First, there is substantial heterogeneity in operationalizing the key outcome variable in the field of fear conditionoing research, here illustrated by using skin conductance responses as an example. This is a challenge to replication and comparability of studies and hence hampers progress in the field. This propsal aims to provide independent comparative, empirical research and get the field together for discussions on operationalization of the key outcome variables and a constructive discussion of the pro’s and con’s of different operationalizational features and decisions. To this end, multiverse and specification curve analyses will be employed. As a secondary aim, this comparative work also targets questions specific to individual difference research questions in fear conditioning. Third, it has been suggested to routinely ‘correct’ for performance during fear acquisition training when studying performance at a later experimental phase (recall or return of fear test). Yet, this suggestion rests on the assumption that fear acquisition performance predicts subsequent test performance - which does neither match prevailing theories nor empirical findings. Thus, I am to investigate whether rank-position stability (within one outcome measure) or its absence over experimental phases may serve as an informative read-out that has not yet been considered in fear conditioning research. I suggest that it may capture the temporal dynamics and may possibly serve as a yet missing read-out for consolidation efficacy.The overarching aim of the proposed project is to establish and consolidate meta-scientific research in the field of fear conditioning research to enhance replicability and ultimately clinical translation of findings.