Skill learning induces changes in estimates of gray matter volume (GMV) in the human brain, commonly detectable with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Rapid changes in GMV estimates while executing tasks may however confound between- and within-subject differences. Fluctuations in arterial blood flow are proposed to underlie this apparent task-related tissue plasticity. To test this hypothesis, we acquired multiple repetitions of structural T1-weighted and functional blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) MRI measurements from 51 subjects performing a finger-tapping task (FTT; á 2 min) repeatedly for 30–60 min. Estimated GMV was decreased in motor regions during FTT compared with rest. Motor-related BOLD signal changes did not overlap nor correlate with GMV changes. Nearly simultaneous BOLD signals cannot fully explain task-induced changes in T1-weighted images. These sensitive and behavior-related GMV changes pose serious questions to reproducibility across studies, and morphological investigations during skill learning can also open new avenues on how to study rapid brain plasticity.
Objective To investigate the effectiveness of formal onboarding programs and practices for new professionals. Introduction New professionals may experience high levels of stress and uncertainty. Formal onboarding programs and practices aim to facilitate the socialization of new professionals by structuring early experiences. However, there is a lack of evidence-based recommendations of how to onboard new professionals. Methods This review considered studies that compares the effect of formal onboarding practices and programs for new professionals between 18–30 years of age (sample mean) to the effect of informal onboarding practices or ‘treatment as usual’ in professional organizations internationally. The outcome of interest for the review was the extent to which new professionals were socialized. The search strategy aimed to locate both published studies (dating back to year 2006) and studies accepted for publication written in English using the electronic databases Web of Science and Scopus (last search November 9 2021). Titles and abstracts were screened and selected papers were assessed by two independent reviewers against the eligibility criteria. Critical appraisal and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers using Joanna Briggs Institutes templates. The findings were summarized in a narrative synthesis and presented in tables. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluations approach. Results Five studies including 1556 new professionals with a mean age of 25 years were included in the study. Most participants were new nurses. The methodological quality was assessed as low to moderate and there were high risks of bias. In three of the five included studies, a statistically significant effect of onboarding practices and programs on new professionals’ adjustment could be confirmed (Cohen’s d 0.13–1.35). Structured and supported on-the-job training was shown to be the onboarding strategy with the strongest support to date. The certainty of the evidence was rated as low. Conclusion The results suggests that organizations should prioritize on-the-job training as a strategy to facilitate organizational socialization. For researchers, the results suggest that attention should be given to understanding how to best implement on-the-job training to ensure strong, broad, and lasting effects. Importantly, research of higher methodological quality investigating effects of different onboarding programs and practices is needed. Systematic review registration number: OSF Registries osf.io/awdx6/.
Much of published research in psychology has been found irreproducible, possibly caused in part by questionable research practices. Open practices have been suggested as a way to combat these issues. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of declared intent to use open practices in Swedish human subjects research. We investigated the occurrence of declared intent to use open practices in a sample of 102 applications to regional ethical review boards (ERBs) in Sweden approved in 2013. Specifically, we investigated the prevalences of declared intent in applications to (1) publish the report with open access, (2) openly publish research materials, (3) openly publish data, and (4) preregister the study. 3% of applications stated an intention to publish open reports, and 5% included references to preregistrations. Statements of intent to publish data and/or materials openly were not found in any applications. A significant difference between types of open practices was identified; however, we observed no statistically significant differences in pairwise comparisons. One cause of low prevalences might be that researchers are disincentivized to use open practices. Future studies should use more recent ERB applications and larger samples.
Recent MRI studies have shown that training can cause apparent gray matter volume (GMV) increases in task-relevant brain regions within hours or even minutes. The present study examined rapid plasticity in the context of motor training, at temporal resolutions of two minutes as well as roughly one hour. Twenty-five healthy volunteers practised performing a complex finger tapping task (FTT) while inside an MRI scanner. Previous research on FTT was used to define a priori region of interest PMCROI in the primary motor cortex. GMV in PMCROI was analyzed during rest and training at three time points: beginning, middle, and end of scan. We found an increase in GMV during rest compared to training at end of scan, indicating a potential delayed training effect. Post hoc analyses of the sensorimotor network resulted in comparable effects which did not survive correction. No significant differences in training GMV between the three time points were found in PMCROI. To our knowledge, no previous study has reported changes in GMV in such a short time period (120 seconds). Future research should continue investigations with high temporal resolution to explore a potential delay in rapid effects of training on GMV.
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