Biology subjects

Hedges-Muncy, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Hedges-Muncy, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

The Relationship between Institutional Prestige, Journal Impact Factor, and Sample Size in fMRI Studies of Memory: A Systematic Review

Low statistical power remains a persistent concern in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research, largely due to small sample sizes. Although prior work has documented gradual increases in sample size over time, it remains unclear whether structural factors in the publication process are associated with study design characteristics such as sample size. This review addresses this gap by analyzing a large sample of fMRI studies to assess how institutional prestige, journal impact factor, and journal review practices are associated with sample size. We analyzed articles published in 2021-2024 reporting new fMRI data collection in adult humans and including a measure of memory. We found studies with specialized populations, such as patient populations, had smaller sample sizes, as did studies with task-based designs compared to resting-state designs. We also found larger sample sizes were associated with journals with a double-blind review process. Institutional prestige was positively associated with sample size such that more highly ranked institutions tended to have larger samples, but there was no interaction between review type (single-vs. double-blind) and prestige, indicating this difference is not likely due to reviewer bias. Journal impact factor was not associated with sample size, however institutional prestige score predicted journal impact factor. These results suggest structural factors at the institutional level likely have a stronger influence on published study sample size than reviewer practices or biases.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Dimensions of anxiety and depression and neurophysiological indicators of error-monitoring: Relationship with delta and theta oscillatory power and error-related negativity amplitude

Error-monitoring processes may be affected by transdiagnostic dimensions of psychopathology symptoms including trait anxiety, worry, and severity of depressive symptoms. We tested the relationship between continuous measures of anxiety and depressive symptomology and neural correlates of error-monitoring as measured by time-frequency domain delta and theta oscillatory power and time domain error-related negativity (ERN) amplitude extracted from the electroencephalogram (EEG). Secondary analyses tested for diagnostic group differences in error-related neural responses in individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and comorbid psychiatric disorders. 178 participants (104 female, M[SD]age = 21.7[4.6]) with a wide range of psychopathology symptoms completed a modified version of the Eriksen flanker task and symptom questionnaires. Residualized difference values between correct and error trials for delta/theta power and error/correct ERN amplitude were dependent variables. Linear regression analyses adjusted for age and sex showed nonsignificant associations of symptom dimension measures with error-related residualized delta/theta power or residualized ERN amplitude. Subset analyses on those with confirmed psychopathology diagnoses also did not predict residualized error-related delta/theta power nor ERN amplitude. Exploratory analyses with only error trial delta/theta power and ERN amplitude also revealed nonsignificant relationships. Taken in the context of previous literature, results suggest a heterogeneous relationship between depressive and anxiety symptom dimensions and neurophysiological indices of error-monitoring. Impact StatementIn line with the RDoC framework, we tested the relationship between anxiety and depressive symptom dimensions and neural indices of error-processing (delta and theta power, error-related negativity ERP amplitude) in 178 participants with a range of pathology symptoms. A non-significant relationship emerged between neural and symptom measures suggesting anxiety and depressive symptomology have a nuanced relationship with error-monitoring in a large sample across a range of anxiety and depression symptoms.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Differentiating electrophysiological indices of internal and external performance monitoring: Relationship with perfectionism and locus of control

The impact of individual differences on performance monitoring and psychopathology is a question of active debate. Personality traits associated with psychopathology may be related to poor internal performance monitoring (as measured by the error-related negativity [ERN]) but intact external performance monitoring (as measured by the reward positivity [RewP]), suggesting that there are underlying neural differences between internal and external performance monitoring processes. We tested the relationships between individual difference measures of perfectionism, locus of control, and ERN, Pe, and RewP component difference amplitude in a healthy undergraduate sample. A total of 128 participants (69 female, M(SD)age= 20.6(2.0) years) completed two tasks: a modified version of the Eriksen Flanker and a doors gambling task along with the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism scale, the Rotter Locus of Control scale, and the Levenson Multidimensional Locus of Control scale to quantify perfectionism and locus of control traits, respectively. Linear regressions adjusting for age and gender showed that neither {Delta}ERN nor {Delta}RewP amplitude were significantly moderated by perfectionism or locus of control scores. Findings suggest that, in psychiatrically-healthy individuals, there is not a strong link between perfectionism, locus of control, and ERN or RewP amplitude. Future research on individual difference measures in people with psychopathology may provide further insight into how these personality traits affect performance monitoring.

neuroscience↗