The rent's too high: Self-archive for fair online publication costs

The main contributors of scientific knowledge, researchers, generally aim to disseminate their findings far and wide. And yet, publishing companies have largely kept these findings behind a paywall. With digital publication technology markedly reducing cost, this enduring wall seems disproportionate and unjustified; moreover, it has sparked a topical exchange concerning how to modernize academic publishing. This discussion, however, seems to focus on how to compensate major publishers for providing open access through a "pay to publish" model, in turn transferring financial burdens from libraries to authors and their funders. Large publishing companies, including Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, PLoS, and Frontiers, continue to earn exorbitant revenues each year, hundreds of millions of dollars of which now come from processing charges for open-access articles. A less expensive and equally accessible alternative exists: widespread self-archiving of peer-reviewed articles. All we need is awareness of this alternative and the will to employ itComment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 19 reference

The Psychology of Neurofeedback: Clinical Intervention Even if Applied Placebo

Advocates of neurofeedback make bold claims concerning brain regulation, treatment of disorders, and mental health. Decades of research and thousands of peer-reviewed publications support neurofeedback using electroencephalography (EEG-nf); yet, few experiments isolate the act of receiving feedback from a specific brain signal as a necessary precursor to obtain the purported benefits. Moreover, while psychosocial parameters including participant motivation and expectation, rather than neurobiological substrates, seem to fuel clinical improvement across a wide range of disorders, for-profit clinics continue to sprout across North America and Europe. Here, we highlight the tenuous evidence supporting EEG-nf and sketch out the weaknesses of this approach. We challenge classic arguments often articulated by proponents of EEG-nf and underscore how psychologists and mental health professionals stand to benefit from studying the ubiquitous placebo influences that likely drive these treatment outcomes

Neurofeedback or Neuroplacebo?

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Better than sham? A double-blind placebo-controlled neurofeedback study in primary insomnia’, by Schabus et al.. (doi:10.1093/brain/awx011)

The Climate of Neurofeedback: Scientific Rigour and the Perils of Ideology

Over the last six decades, an in-group with ideological and financial stakes has been conducting sub-par research to develop an ostensibly effective clinical intervention: EEG-neurofeedback. More recently, however, a string of independent studies featuring increased scientific rigour and tighter experimental controls has challenged the foundation on which EEG-neurofeedback stands. Earlier this year, Brain published one of the most robust EEG-neurofeedback experiments to date (Schabus et al., 2017), which sparked a flurry of correspondence concerning the therapeutic value of neurofeedback (Fovet et al., 2017; Schabus, 2017); notably, a parallel discussion continues in Lancet Psychiatry (Micoulaud-Franchi and Fovet, 2016; Thibault and Raz, 2016a; Schönenberg et al., 2017). However, to effectively interpret the pro and con viewpoints, one must appreciate the peculiar culture surrounding the field of EEG-neurofeedback. The present breezy piece provides little-discussed yet highly relevant contextual information often absent from formal papers and technical reports

Source Localization of Brain States Associated with Canonical Neuroimaging Postures

Cognitive neuroscientists rarely consider the influence that body position exerts on brain activity; yet, postural variation holds important implications for the acquisition and interpretation of neuroimaging data. Whereas participants in most behavioral and EEG experiments sit upright, many prominent brain imaging techniques (e.g., fMRI) require participants to lie supine. Here we demonstrate that physical comportment profoundly alters baseline brain activity as measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG)—an imaging modality that permits multipostural acquisition. We collected resting-state MEG data from 12 healthy participants in three postures (lying supine, reclining at 45°, and sitting upright). Source-modeling analysis revealed a broadly distributed influence of posture on resting brain function. Sitting upright versus lying supine was associated with greater high-frequency (i.e., beta and gamma) activity in widespread parieto-occipital cortex. Moreover, sitting upright and reclining postures correlated with dampened activity in prefrontal regions across a range of bandwidths (i.e., from alpha to low gamma). The observed effects were large, with a mean Cohen\u27s d of 0.95 (SD = 0.23). In addition to neural activity, physiological parameters such as muscle tension and eye blinks may have contributed to these posture-dependent changes in brain signal. Regardless of the underlying mechanisms, however, the present results have important implications for the acquisition and interpretation of multimodal imaging data (e.g., studies combining fMRI or PET with EEG or MEG). More broadly, our findings indicate that generalizing results—from supine neuroimaging measurements to erect positions typical of ecological human behavior—would call for considering the influence that posture wields on brain dynamics

Treating ADHD with Suggestion: Neurofeedback and Placebo Therapeutics

Objective: We propose that clinicians can use suggestion to help treat conditions such as ADHD. Methods: We use EEG neurofeedback as a case study, alongside evidence from a recent pilot experiment utilizing a sham MRI scanner to highlight the therapeutic potential of suggestion-based treatments. Results: The medical literature demonstrates that many practitioners already prescribe treatments that hardly outperform placebo comparators. Moreover, the sham MRI experiment showed that, even with full disclosure of the procedure, suggestion alone can reduce the symptomatology of ADHD. Conclusion: Non-deceptive suggestion-based treatments, especially those drawing on accessories from neuroscience, may offer a safe complement and potential alternative to current standard of care for individuals with ADHD

Neurofeedback with fMRI: A Critical Systematic Review

Neurofeedback relying on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI-nf) heralds new prospects for self-regulating brain and behavior. Here we provide the first comprehensive review of the fMRI-nf literature and the first systematic database of fMRI-nf findings. We synthesize information from 99 fMRI-nf experiments—the bulk of currently available data. The vast majority of fMRI-nf findings suggest that self-regulation of specific brain signatures seems viable; however, replication of concomitant behavioral outcomes remains sparse. To disentangle placebo influences and establish the specific effects of neurofeedback, we highlight the need for double-blind placebo-controlled studies alongside rigorous and standardized statistical analyses. Before fMRI-nf can join the clinical armamentarium, research must first confirm the sustainability, transferability, and feasibility of fMRI-nf in patients as well as in healthy individuals. Whereas modulating specific brain activity promises to mold cognition, emotion, thought, and action, reducing complex mental health issues to circumscribed brain regions may represent a tenuous goal. We can certainly change brain activity with fMRI-nf. However, it remains unclear whether such changes translate into meaningful behavioral improvements in the clinical domain

Rapid diversification and secondary sympatry in Australo-Pacific kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae: Todiramphus)

Todiramphus chloris is the most widely distributed of the Pacific's ‘great speciators’. Its 50 subspecies constitute a species complex that is distributed over 16 000 km from the Red Sea to Polynesia. We present, to our knowledge, the first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of this enigmatic radiation of kingfishers. Ten Pacific Todiramphus species are embedded within the T. chloris complex, rendering it paraphyletic. Among these is a radiation of five species from the remote islands of Eastern Polynesian, as well as the widespread migratory taxon, Todiramphus sanctus. Our results offer strong support that Pacific Todiramphus, including T. chloris, underwent an extensive range expansion and diversification less than 1 Ma. Multiple instances of secondary sympatry have accumulated in this group, despite its recent origin, including on Australia and oceanic islands in Palau, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Significant ecomorphological and behavioural differences exist between secondarily sympatric lineages, which suggest that pre-mating isolating mechanisms were achieved rapidly during diversification. We found evidence for complex biogeographic patterns, including a novel phylogeographic break in the eastern Solomon Islands that separates a Northern Melanesian clade from Polynesian taxa. In light of our results, we discuss systematic relationships of Todiramphus and propose an updated taxonomy. This paper contributes to our understanding of avian diversification and assembly on islands, and to the systematics of a classically polytypic species complex.This project was funded in part by an American Museum of Natural History Chapman Fellowship (M.J.A.), an American Ornithologists' Union Research Award (M.J.A.), a University of Kansas Doctoral Student Research Fund (M.J.A.) and NSF DEB-1241181 and DEB-0743491 (R.G.M.

A Delphi study to strengthen research-methods training in undergraduate psychology programs

Psychology programs often emphasize inferential statistical tests over a solid understanding of data and research design. This imbalance may leave graduates underequipped to effectively interpret research and employ data to answer questions. We conducted a two-round modified Delphi to identify the research-methods skills that the UK psychology community deems essential for undergraduates to learn. Participants included 103 research-methods instructors, academics, students, and nonacademic psychologists. Of 78 items included in the consensus process, 34 reached consensus. We coupled these results with a qualitative analysis of 707 open-ended text responses to develop nine recommendations for organizations that accredit undergraduate psychology programs—such as the British Psychological Society. We recommend that accreditation standards emphasize (1) data skills, (2) research design, (3) descriptive statistics, (4) critical analysis, (5) qualitative methods, and (6) both parameter estimation and significance testing; as well as (7) give precedence to foundational skills, (8) promote transferable skills, and (9) create space in curricula to enable these recommendations. Our data and findings can inform modernized accreditation standards to include clearly defined, assessable, and widely encouraged skills that foster a competent graduate body for the contemporary world