Journal for Reproducibility in Neuroscience

The Center for Reproducible Science at the University of Zurich

Eva Furrer & Leonhard Held

A compact guide to the systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature in neuroscience

Juliana Bolzan & Cilene Lino de Oliveira

Critical appraisals of the literature may help to increase reproducibility in neuroscience. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are tools for neuroscientists to critically evaluate a large amount of knowledge in the research field. These methods involve individually simple decisions, which may…

Science communication of reproducibility

Sara E. Jager & Katja Kaurinkoski

The importance of reproducibility is a widely discussed topic within academia, and there is an increased awareness about the issues in reproducibility, as we start to more actively tackle it within different fields of the scientific community. Outside of academia, however, reproducibility isn’t as…

Five best practices for fMRI research: Towards a biologically grounded understanding of mental phenomena

Colleen Mills-Finnerty

The replication crisis in science has not spared functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research. A range of issues including insufficient control of false positives, code bugs, concern regarding generalizability and replicability of findings, inadequate characterization of physiological…

We need another 3R rule: repeat, repeat, repeat!

Annika Hulten & Saara Rannanpää

There is consensus within the scientific community that replication studies are scientifically sound and bring added value and reliability to any discovery. It is also widely acknowledged that replications are not as common as they perhaps should be. The reasons for this vary depending on the…

Preprints: a tool and a vehicle towards greater reproducibility in the life sciences

Iratxe Puebla

We have seen a number of initiatives arise in recent years aiming to tackle concerns around the reproducibility of published findings. Researchers in the life sciences now have a number of tools at their disposal to boost the reproducibility of their science and preprints have emerged as an…

How research reproducibility challenges librarians’ skill sets. A French librarian’s perspective

Sabrina Granger

Reproducible research requires to dive into a wide range of subjects (e.g.: statistics, study design, scientific computing) that are quite far from French librarians practices and/or initial training. Librarians do have a technical expertise, but horror stories pinpoint that even seasoned experts…

Barriers to reproducibility: misalignment of career incentives and open science best practices

Colleen Mills-Finnerty

We are on the precipice of a sea change in how research is conducted. Funder mandates and changing expectations around scientific reproducibility have resulted in a new set of open science best practices (OSBP) for research. These practices include, but are not limited to, data and code sharing,…

Kinin B1 receptor is involved in mechanical nociception in a fibromyalgia-like model in mice

Ana Paula Aquistapase Dagnino, Vanessa Machado Azevedo, Patricia Oliboni, Maria Martha Campos & Izaque de Sousa Maciel

Fibromyalgia-like models in mice induced by reserpine have opened a new avenue to understanding the molecular mechanisms behind this complex and incapacitating pain syndrome. The kinin B1 receptor (B1R) contributes to mechanical allodynia and acute coping behavior in mice with inflammatory and…

Anticompulsive-like effect of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors in marble-burying test

Karina Montezuma, Caroline Biojone, Samia Joca, Plinio Casarotto & Francisco Silveira Guimarães

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors decrease marble burying behavior (MBB), and the effect of several compounds that also attenuate MBB (such as classical antidepressants) engages the nitrergic system. In the present study, we tested the effect of the NOS inhibitor aminoguanidine (AMG) in…

Reproducibility of behavioral phenotypes in mouse models - a short history with critical and practical notes

Vootele Voikar

Progress in pre-clinical research is built on reproducible findings, yet reproducibility has different dimensions and even meanings. Indeed, the terms reproducibility, repeatability, and replicability are often used interchangeably, although each has a distinct definition. Moreover, reproducibility…

Have we reproduced Rat Park? Conceptual but not direct replication of the protective effects of social and environmental enrichment in addiction

Shaun Yon-Seng Khoo

The Rat Park studies are classic experiments in addiction neuroscience, yet they have not been successfully replicated directly and several serious methodological criticisms have been raised. However, the conceptual reproducibility of the Rat Park studies is supported by both contemporaneous and…

A platform for reproducibility

Plinio Cabrera Casarotto & Björn Brembs

This is an open editorial about the issues on reproducibility and the current publication system that led us to launch the Journal for Reproduciblity in Neuroscience.

The Finnish Reproducibility Network (FIRN): A national bottom-up approach to scientific integrity in a global context

Vootele Voikar, Plinio Casarotto, Enrico Glerean, Kati Laakso, Kaisa Saurio, Veli-Matti Karhulahti & Andreas Scherer

Across sciences the lack of reproducibility has raised concerns that shake disciplinary foundations. In this article, the need for institutional solutions as one possible antidote to reproducibility issues is suggested, and Reproducibility Networks (RNs), as a case in point, are explained. In…

Quantifying, and correcting for, the impact of questionable research practices on false discovery rates in psychological science

Dwight J. Kravitz & Stephen R. Mitroff

Large-scale replication failures have shaken confidence in the social sciences, psychology in particular. Most researchers acknowledge the problem, yet there is widespread debate about the causes and solutions. Using “big data,” the current project demonstrates that unintended consequences of three…