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

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 become complex when considering the whole process. Strategies to organize the planning and implementation of the protocols minimize the workload. Here, we prepared a compact guide to assist neuroscientists willing to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature in neuroscience.

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

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 instrumental element within this toolkit. Preprints broaden the when, by whom and how of the review and feedback on research compared to the journal publication process, help address publication bias, and can play an important role as a vehicle towards open science practices. Preprints hold further untapped potential to close the gap between discovery and dissemination, and to accelerate the path to a more reproducible research ecosystem.

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

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 seem to lose track. In such context, what could be the added value of librarians?

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

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 immunological disorders. This study has replicated previous data where amine depletion induced by reserpine significantly decreased the dopamine and serotonin levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HPC), and spinal cord of mice. The animals subjected to the reserpine fibromyalgia model also showed decreased paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and increased the immobility time in the forced swimming test (FST). Genetic ablation of B1R or pharmacological blockade by selective kinin B1R antagonist R-715 (acute i.p. treatment) counteracted the mechanical allodynia and increased immobility time induced by reserpine. However, neither pharmacological nor genetic inhibition of B1R reversed monoamine depletion. Our data confirm that reserpine induced a fibromyalgia-like phenotype in mice and reiterated the role of B1R on acute coping behavior and nociception modulation.

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

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 subsequent research. Contemporaneous research on social and environmental enrichment frequently found social isolation rendered rats less sensitive to the effects of drugs of abuse. The Rat Park studies therefore confirmed the importance of social and environmental enrichment and extended this literature to suggest that enrichment reduced opioid consumption. Subsequent studies have also demonstrated social and environmental enrichment reduces drug consumption. However, there are also several papers reporting no effects of enrichment (or ‘negative’ results) and caveats from studies that show genes, age, sex and drug of abuse are all important parameters. While the Rat Park studies did not use methods that are reliable by current standards, enrichment has been shown to reliably reduce opioid consumption and this effect can generalise to other drugs of abuse.

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

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 attenuating MBB. For comparative reasons, we also tested the effect of selective inhibitors of neuronal (NOS1) and inducible (NOS2) isoforms NPA and 1400W, respectively. Our results indicate that AMG and NPA, but not 1400W, reduced the number of buried marbles in the marble burying test (MBT), which is considered an anticompulsive-like effect. No effect of AMG in the anxiety- or locomotor-related parameters of the elevated plus maze was observed. Taken together, our data is consistent with the current literature that suggests that nitric oxide inhibitors, putatively acting through the neuronal isoform of the synthesis enzyme (NOS1), exhibit anticompulsive-like properties.