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，这场辩论有时被称为“复制危机”。这创造了新生的研究领域：旨在（建设性地）评估研究方法的元研究。这一建议从建设性和实证的角度解决了恐惧条件反射研究领域中两个紧迫的元研究问题。这些问题部分源于DFG资助的科学网络的背景下进行的讨论。首先，在恐惧条件化研究领域中，操作化关键结果变量存在很大的异质性，这里以皮肤电导反应为例进行说明。这对研究的复制和可比性是一个挑战，因此阻碍了这一领域的进展。这个propsal的目的是提供独立的比较，实证研究，并获得现场一起讨论的关键结果变量的操作和建设性的讨论的利弊的不同操作的功能和决定。为此，将采用多元和规范曲线分析。作为第二个目标，这项比较工作也针对具体的问题，个别差异研究问题的恐惧条件反射。第三，有人建议在以后的实验阶段（回忆或恐惧回归测试）研究表现时，在恐惧获得训练期间对表现进行常规“校正”。然而，这一建议是基于这样一个假设，即恐惧获得的表现可以预测随后的测试表现--这既不符合流行的理论，也不符合实证研究结果。因此，我调查排名位置的稳定性（在一个结果的措施）或其缺乏实验阶段可能作为一个信息读出，尚未被认为是在恐惧条件反射研究。我认为，它可能会捕捉到时间的动态，并可能作为一个尚未失踪的读出巩固efficiency.The总体目标的拟议项目是建立和巩固恐惧条件反射研究领域的元科学研究，以提高可复制性，并最终临床翻译的结果。

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.