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Browse the failure-mode index

243 real negative results, null findings, and replication failures in Neuroscience. Search the index →

WASTE indexes published research — it does not host or republish full papers. Each entry is a metadata record compiled from open scholarly databases; the abstract is shown in full only where the paper is openly licensed, otherwise a short excerpt under fair use. Classifications are automated and approximate.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Hits and misses: leveraging tDCS to advance cognitive research

Marian E. Berryhill · 2014 · Frontiers in Psychology

The popularity of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques in basic, commercial, and applied settings grew tremendously over the last decade. Here, we focus on one popular neurostimulation method: transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Many assumptions regarding the outcomes of tDCS are based on the results of stimulating motor cortex. For instance, the primary motor cortex is predictably suppressed by cathodal tDCS or made more excitable by anodal tDCS. However, wide-ranging studies testing cognition provide more complex and sometimes paradoxical results that challenge this heuristi

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Replication FailureOpen accessNeuroscience

The effect of horizontal eye movements on free recall: A preregistered adversarial collaboration.

Dóra Matzke, Sander Nieuwenhuis, Hedderik van Rijn et al. · 2015 · Journal of Experimental Psychology General

A growing body of research has suggested that horizontal saccadic eye movements facilitate the retrieval of episodic memories in free recall and recognition memory tasks. Nevertheless, a minority of studies have failed to replicate this…

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Negative / Null Result ReportNeuroscience

Case-Control Analysis of Cochlear Implant Performance in Elderly Patients

David R. Friedland, Christina L. Runge, Humera F. Baig et al. · 2010 · Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery

OBJECTIVE: To characterize speech perception performance in elderly cochlear implant users compared with younger adult users. DESIGN: Case-control retrospective analysis from January 1, 1999, to January 28, 2008. SETTING: Tertiary care,…

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Negative / Null Result ReportNeuroscience

Childhood maltreatment, the corticotropin‐releasing hormone receptor gene and adult depression in the general population

Hans J. Grabe, Christian Schwahn, Katja Appel et al. · 2010 · American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B Neuropsychiatric Genetics

Dysregulations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of depressive disorders and the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) was found to modulate emotional memory consolidation. Recently,…

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Replication FailureOpen accessNeuroscience

The psychometric function: The lapse rate revisited

Nicolaas Prins · 2012 · Journal of Vision

In their influential paper, Wichmann and Hill (2001) have shown that the threshold and slope estimates of a psychometric function may be severely biased when it is assumed that the lapse rate equals zero but lapses do, in fact, occur.…

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Failed Experiment ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Melatonin: a possible link between the presence of artificial light at night and reductions in biological fitness

Therésa M. Jones, Joanna Durrant, Ellie B. Michaelides et al. · 2015 · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

The mechanisms underpinning the ecological impacts of the presence of artificial night lighting remain elusive. One suspected underlying cause is that the presence of light at night (LAN) supresses nocturnal production of melatonin, a key…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

A Network Convergence Zone in the Hippocampus

Bratislav Mišić, Joaquín Goñi, Richard F. Betzel et al. · 2014 · PLoS Computational Biology

The hippocampal formation is a key structure for memory function in the brain. The functional anatomy of the brain suggests that the hippocampus may be a convergence zone, as it receives polysensory input from distributed association areas throughout the neocortex. However, recent quantitative graph-theoretic analyses of the static large-scale connectome have failed to demonstrate the centrality of the hippocampus; in the context of the whole brain, the hippocampus is not among the most connected or reachable nodes. Here we show that when communication dynamics are taken into account, the hipp

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Replication FailureOpen accessNeuroscience

Resting GABA and glutamate concentrations do not predict visual gamma frequency or amplitude

Helena Cousijn, Saskia Haegens, George Wallis et al. · 2014 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Gamma band oscillations arise in neuronal networks of interconnected GABAergic interneurons and excitatory pyramidal cells. A previous study found a correlation between visual gamma peak frequency, as measured with magnetoencephalography,…

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Replication FailureOpen accessNeuroscience

Functional EEG connectivity in infants associates with later restricted and repetitive behaviours in autism; a replication study

Rianne Haartsen, Emily J. H. Jones, Elena V. Orekhova et al. · 2019 · Translational Psychiatry

We conducted a replication study of our prior report that increased alpha EEG connectivity at 14-months associates with later autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis, and dimensional variation in restricted interests/repetitive behaviours. 143 infants at high and low familial risk for ASD watched dynamic videos of spinning toys and women singing nursery rhymes while high-density EEG was recorded. Alpha functional connectivity (7-8 Hz) was calculated using the debiased weighted phase lag index. The final sample with clean data included low-risk infants (N = 20), and high-risk infants who at 36

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

The Survival Advantage: Underlying Mechanisms and Extant Limitations

Stephanie A. Kazanas, Jeanette Altarriba · 2015 · Evolutionary Psychology

Recently, researchers have begun to investigate the function of memory in our evolutionary history. According to Nairne and colleagues (e.g., Nairne, Pandeirada, and Thompson, 2008; Nairne, Thompson, and Pandeirada, 2007), the best…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Real-time brain-machine interface in non-human primates achieves high-velocity prosthetic finger movements using a shallow feedforward neural network decoder

Matthew S. Willsey, Samuel R. Nason, Scott R. Ensel et al. · 2022 · Nature Communications

Despite the rapid progress and interest in brain-machine interfaces that restore motor function, the performance of prosthetic fingers and limbs has yet to mimic native function. The algorithm that converts brain signals to a control signal for the prosthetic device is one of the limitations in achieving rapid and realistic finger movements. To achieve more realistic finger movements, we developed a shallow feed-forward neural network to decode real-time two-degree-of-freedom finger movements in two adult male rhesus macaques. Using a two-step training method, a recalibrated feedback intention

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor signalling reduces microvascular thrombosis, nitro‐oxidative stress and platelet activation in endotoxaemic mice

Sebastian Steven, Kerstin Jurk, Maximilian Kopp et al. · 2016 · British Journal of Pharmacology

Abstract Background and Purpose Excessive inflammation in sepsis causes microvascular thrombosis and thrombocytopenia associated with organ dysfunction and high mortality. The present studies aimed to investigate whether inhibition of…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Transcorneal Electrical Stimulation for Patients With Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Prospective, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Follow-up Study Over 1 Year

Andreas Schatz, Johanna Pach, Mariya Gosheva et al. · 2017 · Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science

Purpose: After promising results of an exploratory study, this study was designed to assess the safety and efficacy of transcorneal electrical stimulation (TES) over 1 year in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Methods: We included 52 RP patients in this prospective, randomized, partially-masked study which was done in accordance with rules of good clinical practice. Transcorneal electrical stimulation by Okustim was applied monocularly for 30 minutes per week for 52 consecutive weeks. Patients were assigned randomly to the groups: sham, 150%, or 200% of individual electrical phosphene t

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Evaluation of seven hypotheses for metamemory performance in rhesus monkeys.

Benjamin M. Basile, Gabriel R. Schroeder, Emily Kathryn Brown et al. · 2014 · Journal of Experimental Psychology General

Knowing the extent to which nonhumans and humans share mechanisms for metacognition will advance our understanding of cognitive evolution and will improve selection of model systems for biomedical research. Some nonhuman species avoid…

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Replication FailureOpen accessNeuroscience

The role of deliberate practice in expert performance: revisiting Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer (1993)

Brooke N. Macnamara, Megha Maitra · 2019 · Royal Society Open Science

We sought to replicate Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer's (Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer 1993 Psychol. Rev. 100 , 363–406) seminal study on deliberate practice. Ericsson et al . found that differences in retrospective estimates of accumulated amounts of deliberate practice corresponded to each skill level of student violinists. They concluded, ‘individual differences in ultimate performance can largely be accounted for by differential amounts of past and current levels of practice’ (p. 392). We reproduced the methodology with notable exceptions, namely (i) employing a double-blind proce

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Negative / Null Result ReportNeuroscience

Retrieval attempts enhance learning, but retrieval success (versus failure) does not matter.

Nate Kornell, Patricia Jacobs Klein, Katherine A. Rawson · 2014 · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition

Retrieving information from memory enhances learning. We propose a 2-stage framework to explain the benefits of retrieval. Stage 1 takes place as one attempts to retrieve an answer, which activates knowledge related to the retrieval cue.…

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Negative / Null Result ReportNeuroscience

Rho Kinase Inhibitor Fasudil Regulates Microglia Polarization and Function

Haifei Zhang, Yànhuá Lǐ, Jie‐Zhong Yu et al. · 2013 · NeuroImmunoModulation

Macrophages/microglia exhibit phenotypic and functional heterogeneity under physiological and pathological conditions. Owing to this heterogeneity, the polarization of macrophages/microglia is capable of effecting both detrimental and…

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Negative / Null Result ReportNeuroscience

A Pilot Study on the Combination of Applied Behavior Analysis and Bumetanide Treatment for Children with Autism

Lin Du, Ling Shan, Bing Wang et al. · 2015 · Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of combined bumetanide and applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment in children with autism. METHODS: Sixty children diagnosed with autism according to the…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Slow Potentials in Time Estimation: The Role of Temporal Accumulation and Habituation

Tadeusz W. Kononowicz, Hedderik van Rijn · 2011 · Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience

Numerous studies have shown that contingent negative variation (CNV) measured at fronto-central and parietal-central areas is closely related to interval timing. However, the exact nature of the relation between CNV and the underlying timing mechanisms is still a topic of discussion. On the one hand, it has been proposed that the CNV measured at supplementary motor area (SMA) is a direct reflection of the unfolding of time since a perceived onset, whereas other work has suggested that the increased amplitude reflects decision processes involved in interval timing. Strong evidence for the first

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Negative / Null Result ReportNeuroscience

Neurodevelopmental outcome following exposure to sedative and analgesic drugs for complex cardiac surgery in infancy*

Gonzalo Garcia Guerra, Charlene M.T. Robertson, Gwen Y. Alton et al. · 2011 · Pediatric Anesthesia

OBJECTIVES/AIM: To determine whether sedation/analgesia drugs used before, during, and after infant cardiac surgery are associated with neurodevelopmental outcome. BACKGROUND: Animal models suggest detrimental effects of anesthetic drugs…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Association of rs1006737 in CACNA1C with alterations in prefrontal activation and fronto‐hippocampal connectivity

Frieder M. Paulus, Johannes Bedenbender, Sören Krach et al. · 2013 · Human Brain Mapping

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies have identified the rs1006737 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CACNA1C gene as a susceptibility locus for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. On the neural systems level this…

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Replication FailureOpen accessNeuroscience

Genome-wide gene-based analysis suggests an association between Neuroligin 1 (NLGN1) and post-traumatic stress disorder

Varun Kilaru, Shruti V. Iyer, Lynn M. Almli et al. · 2016 · Translational Psychiatry

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops in only some people following trauma exposure, but the mechanisms differentially explaining risk versus resilience remain largely unknown. PTSD is heritable but candidate gene studies and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified only a modest number of genes that reliably contribute to PTSD. New gene-based methods may help identify additional genes that increase risk for PTSD development or severity. We applied gene-based testing to GWAS data from the Grady Trauma Project (GTP), a primarily African American cohort, and identified two

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Clinical Standardized fMRI Reveals Altered Language Lateralization in Patients with Brain Tumor

Sasan Partovi, Bjoern Jacobi, Nora Rapps et al. · 2012 · American Journal of Neuroradiology

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Brain tumors affecting language-relevant areas may influence language lateralization. The purpose of this study was to systematically investigate language lateralization in brain tumor patients using clinical language fMRI, comparing the results with a group of healthy volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-seven strictly right-handed patients with left-hemispheric-space intracranial masses (mainly neoplastic) affecting either the Broca area (n = 19) or Wernicke area (n = 38) were prospectively enrolled in this study. Fourteen healthy volunteers served as a control gr

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