Navigating the garden of forking paths for data exclusions in fear conditioning research

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: the PRISMA statement

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & for the PRISMA Group (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b2535 · Cited by 83,823

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group (2009) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097 · Cited by 64,042

Untitled work

(1970) · Cited by 24,983

The Effect of Riding as an Alternative Treatment for Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Wang, G., Ma, R., Qiao, G., Wada, K., Aizawa, Y., & Satoh, T. (2015) · Integrative Medicine International · doi:10.1159/000368408 · Cited by 18,762

ggplot2: Elegant Graphics for Data Analysis

Wickham, H. (2009) · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-98141-3 · Cited by 14,447

False-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as Significant

Simmons, J. P., Nelson, L. D., & Simonsohn, U. (2011) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797611417632 · Cited by 6,567

A manifesto for reproducible science

Munafò, M. R., Nosek, B. A., Bishop, D. V. M., Button, K. S., Chambers, C. D., Percie du Sert, N., Simonsohn, U., Wagenmakers, E.-J., Ware, J. J., & Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2017) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-016-0021 · Cited by 3,397

Promoting an open research culture

Nosek, B. A., Alter, G., Banks, G. C., Borsboom, D., Bowman, S. D., Breckler, S. J., Buck, S., Chambers, C. D., Chin, G., Christensen, G., et al. (2015) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aab2374 · Cited by 2,708

Measuring the Prevalence of Questionable Research Practices With Incentives for Truth Telling

John, L. K., Loewenstein, G., & Prelec, D. (2012) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797611430953 · Cited by 2,239

Effects of an expanding-spaced vs massed exposure schedule on fear reduction and return of fear

Rowe, M. K., & Craske, M. G. (1998) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(97)10016-x · Cited by 1,782

Developmental differences in threat learning are associated with changes in frontal-central theta activity

Shner‐Livne, G., Barak, N., Shitrit, I., Abend, R., & Shechner, T. (2025) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-025-02745-2 · Cited by 4

Fear learning sculpts functional brain connectivity at rest beyond the traditional fear network

Fraenz, C., Metzen, D., Merz, C. J., Selpien, H., Friedrich, P., Ocklenburg, S., Axmacher, N., & Genç, E. (2025) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2025.115764 · Cited by 6

A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Translation – Ideas for Fostering and Disseminating (Clinical) Translational Psychology

Berg, M., Suchotzki, K., Zimmermann, J., Merz, C. J., Szota, K., Brandt, H., Hartwigsen, G., Lincoln, T. M., Mokros, A., Gade, M., et al. (2025) · European Psychologist · doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000555 · Cited by 4

Variability in threat processing is related to endogenous butyrate levels in healthy men

Dalile, B., Oudenhove, L. V., Verbeke, K., & Vervliet, B. (2025) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109097 · Cited by 3

REM sleep reduction leads to fear overgeneralization via negatively modulating prefrontal theta oscillations

Di, T., Liu, J., Liu, W., Guo, Y., Zheng, E., Yu, Z., Shi, L., Jia, T., Lü, L., Sun, Y., et al. (2025) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12916-025-04411-5 · Cited by 3

Increased generalisation in trait anxiety is driven by aversive value transfer

Verra, L., Spitzer, B., Schuck, N. W., & Zika, O. (2026) · Communications Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44271-026-00415-w · Cited by 3

Utilizing rewards to dampen fear and its recovery

Brown, E. C., Artigas, S. O., Elsner, S., Liu, L., & Park, S. Q. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-99758-3 · Cited by 3

Skin conductance levels and responses in Asian and White participants during fear conditioning✰

Gold, A. K., Kredlow, M. A., Orr, S. P., Hartley, C. A., & Otto, M. W. (2022) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113802 · Cited by 3

Pavlovian Conditioning and Extinction Methods for Studying the Neurobiology of Fear Learning in PTSD

Miller, D. B., Rassaby, M. M., Wen, Z., & Milad, M. R. (2023) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-3218-5_5 · Cited by 3

Generalized expectancy of threat in threatening compared to safe contexts

Aslanidou, A., Andreatta, M., Wong, A. H. K., & Wieser, M. J. (2024) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsae097 · Cited by 3

Affective and computational determinants of threat extinction biases

Stussi, Y. (2025) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2025.104804 · Cited by 5

Model-based representational similarity analysis of blood-oxygen-level-dependent fMRI captures threat learning in social interactions

Undeger, I., Visser, R. M., Becker, N., de Boer, L., Golkar, A., & Olsson, A. (2021) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.202116 · Cited by 3

Fear learning sculpts functional brain connectivity at rest beyond the traditional fear network in humansPreprint

Fraenz, C., Metzen, D., Merz, C. J., Selpien, H., Friedrich, P., Ocklenburg, S., Axmacher, N., & Genç, E. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.05.26.115840 · Cited by 3

I doubt it is safe: A meta-analysis of self-reported intolerance of uncertainty and threat extinction trainingPreprint

Morriss, J., Wake, S. J., elizabeth, C., & van Reekum, C. M. (2021) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/nrqv6 · Cited by 7

The PAC1 receptor risk genotype does not influence fear acquisition, extinction, or generalization in women with no trauma/low trauma

Velasco, E. R., Nabás, J. F., Torrents‐Rodas, D., Arias, B., Torrúbia, R., Fullana, M. A., & Andero, R. (2024) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108981 · Cited by 2

Fear extinction using a conditioned stimulus that was temporally proximal to the unconditioned stimulus reduces physiological and subjective return of fear

Eales, K., Lipp, O. V., Anderson, J., Jarvis, M. A., & Ney, L. J. (2025) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2025.104828 · Cited by 4

Fornix subdivisions and spatial learning: a diffusion MRI study

Hodgetts, C. J., Postans, M., Williams, A. N., Graham, K. S., & Lawrence, A. D. (2025) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109350 · Cited by 2

Rule-based generalization of threat without similarity

Marstaller, L., Al-Jiboury, R., Kemp, A. H., & Dymond, S. (2021) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108042 · Cited by 2

The absence of differential electrodermal responding in the second half of acquisition does not indicate the absence of fear learning

Lipp, O. V., Luck, C. C., & Waters, A. M. (2021) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.13982 · Cited by 3

Assessing the Long-Term Stability of the Spielberger State-Trait Inventory Trait Scale over 3.5 Years

Klingelhöfer-Jens, M., Reiser, F., Brandt, N. D., Schümann, D., Gamer, M., Kalisch, R., Sommer, T., & Lonsdorf, T. B. (2025) · Journal of Personality Assessment · doi:10.1080/00223891.2025.2513936 · Cited by 3

Self-compassion writing facilitates fear extinction

Mei, Y., Juntong, L. I. U., Honghong, L. I. U., Yang, F., Luo, X., & Lei, Y. (2023) · Acta Psychologica Sinica · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1041.2023.01317 · Cited by 2

Verbal manipulations of learning expectancy do not enhance reconsolidation

Marinos, J., Simioni, O., & Ashbaugh, A. R. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0241943 · Cited by 2

Watching with Argus Eyes: Characterization of emotional and physiological responding in adults exposed to childhood maltreatment and/or recent adversityPreprint

Koppold, A., Kastrinogiannis, A., Kuhn, M., & Lonsdorf, T. B. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/wjeyg · Cited by 2

The role of consciousness in threat extinction learning

Lam, C. L. M., Barry, T. J., Yiend, J., & Lee, T. M. C. (2023) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2023.103599 · Cited by 1

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Fear Learning and Generalization

Sheerin, C. M., Moore, A. A., Sawyers, C. K., Kirkpatrick, R. M., Hettema, J. M., & Roberson‐Nay, R. (2025) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.70052 · Cited by 1

No support for an effect of a daytime nap on the consolidation or generalization of fear learning

Davidson, P., Garcia, S. M., Denis, D., Kensinger, E. A., & Pace-Schott, E. F. (2025) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109241 · Cited by 1

Experimentally induced REM sleep fragmentation affects psychophysiological habituation to emotional stimuli

Viselli, L., Salfi, F., Naccarato, F., Arnone, B., Corigliano, D., Amicucci, G., Festucci, F., Colombo, C., Cellini, N., Tempesta, D., et al. (2025) · SLEEP · doi:10.1093/sleep/zsaf409 · Cited by 1

Subjective Emotions and Physiological Responses During Collision Avoidance with a Virtual Autonomous Mobile Robot

Matsubara, Y., Tamura, H., Minami, T., & Nakauchi, S. (2026) · International Journal of Social Robotics · doi:10.1007/s12369-025-01341-3 · Cited by 1

Prior conceptual structure in shaping fear generalization: The impact of co-occurrence frequency and retrieval context

Zhang, D., Zou, Z., Zhang, B. Y., Feng, B., Fei, Z., Zhang, M., Liu, Y., & Zheng, X. (2026) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2026.105019 · Cited by 1

A ventral striatal learning signal reflecting individual differences in the success of fear extinction

Andres, E., Chuan-Peng, H., Gerlicher, A. M. V., Tüscher, O., & Kalisch, R. (2026) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-026-03565-9 · Cited by 2

Can contingency rehearsal during the interval between a retrieval cue and extinction training change the effects of post‐retrieval extinction?

Zuccolo, P. F., & Hunziker, M. H. L. (2021) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.13971 · Cited by 1

Reduced discrimination between signals of danger and safety but not overgeneralization is linked to exposure to childhood adversity in healthy adults

Klingelhöfer-Jens, M., Hutterer, K., Schiele, M. A., Leehr, E. J., Schümann, D., Rosenkranz, K., Böhnlein, J., Repple, J., Deckert, J., Domschke, K., et al. (2025) · eLife · doi:10.1101/2023.09.26.559474 · Cited by 3

A Roadmap for Future Interactions Between Research on Personality and Learning

Houwer, J. D., Perugini, M., Boddez, Y., & Sava, F. A. (2023) · Collabra Psychology · doi:10.1525/collabra.88334 · Cited by 1

Reduction in locomotor activity and freezing time: A dual measure for more accurate fear response in rats

Yin, X., Germanos, O., & Dietis, N. (2025) · Behavioural Processes · doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2025.105176 · Cited by 1

Development of a novel startle response task in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Maresh, K. E., Papageorgiou, A., Ridout, D. A., Harrison, N. A., Mandy, W., Skuse, D., & Francesco Muntoni, A. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0264091 · Cited by 1

Conditioned fear reactions are associated with gray matter density but not cortical microstructurePreprint

Fraenz, C., Metzen, D., Merz, C. J., Selpien, H., Axmacher, N., & Genç, E. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.12.18.423236 · Cited by 1

Enhancing Precision in Human NeurosciencePreprint

Nebe, S., Reutter, M., Baker, D. H., Bölte, J., Domes, G., Gamer, M., Gärtner, A., Gießing, C., Mann, C., Hilger, K., et al. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/m8c4k · Cited by 1

Reduced discrimination between signals of danger and safety but not overgeneralization is linked to exposure to childhood adversity in healthy adultsPreprint

Klingelhöfer-Jens, M., Hutterer, K., Schiele, M. A., Leehr, E. J., Schümann, D., Rosenkranz, K., Böhnlein, J., Repple, J., Deckert, J., Domschke, K., et al. (2024) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.91425.2 · Cited by 1

The more, the better: Auditory threat conditioning using multiple conditioned and unconditioned stimuli over many trialsPreprint

Jambazova, A. A., van Rijsbergen, N. J., & Scheepers, C. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/p6z5u

Meanings of Quality: Semantic-Information Distance and Total Quality Management

Steier, F., Zhao, B., Woodhams, W., & Gallup, S. P. (1993)

Systematically investigating the role of context on effect replicability in reinstatement of fear in humansPreprint

Lonsdorf, T. B., & Sjouwerman, R. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/65njk · Cited by 1

An examination of intolerance of uncertainty effects on subjective, psychophysiological, and neural markers during uninstructed and instructed threat acquisition and extinction trainingPreprint

Wendt, J., & Morriss, J. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/bnw53

Rule-based generalization of threat without similarityPreprint

Marstaller, L., Al-Jiboury, R., Kemp, A. H., & Dymond, S. (2020) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/kfv3j

Open and reproducible science practices in psychoneuroendocrinology: opportunities to foster scientific progressPreprint

Meier, M., Lonsdorf, T. B., LUPIEN, S. J., Tobias Stalder, A., Laufer, S., Sicorello, M., Linz, R., & Puhlmann, L. M. C. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/d2zvc

Mental Imagery in Fear Extinction: A Multi-Component Examination Based on Behavioral, Physiological, and Neurological Measures

Jiang, X. (2021) · Louisiana State University · doi:10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5532

Preregistration of Studies with Existing Data

Mertens, G., & Krypotos, A.-M. (2022) · Integrity of Scientific Research · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-99680-2_36

Reduction of aversive learning rates in Pavlovian conditioning by angiotensin II antagonist losartan: a randomised controlled trialPreprint

Zika, O., Appel, J. E., Klinge, C., Shkreli, L., Browning, M. D., Wiech, K., & Reinecke, A. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/e5wdv

Joint Public Review: Reduced discrimination between signals of danger and safety but not overgeneralization is linked to exposure to childhood adversity in healthy adults

Klingelhöfer-Jens, M., Hutterer, K., Schiele, M. A., et al. (2023) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.91425.1.sa0

Reduced discrimination between signals of danger and safety but not overgeneralization is linked to exposure to childhood adversity in healthy adultsPreprint

Klingelhöfer-Jens, M., Hutterer, K., Schiele, M. A., Leehr, E. J., Schümann, D., Rosenkranz, K., Böhnlein, J., Repple, J., Deckert, J., Domschke, K., et al. (2023) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.91425.1

Disentangling safety: A summation test between absence and termination of threatPreprint

Andreatta, M. (2024) · doi:10.22541/au.171315629.91304686/v1

Puberty, sex, and fear extinction retention: A neuroimaging study in youth

Bhargava, S., Zundel, C. G., Shampine, M. M., Ely, S. L., Carpenter, C., Losiowski, J., Chanamolu, S., Jande, J., Tamimi, R., Sharma, K., et al. (2025) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101595 · Cited by 1

Human trust and emotion in the context of collision avoidance with an autonomous mobile robot: An investigation of predictability and smoothness in virtual realityPreprint

Matsubara, Y., Tamura, H., Minami, T., & Nakauchi, S. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2025.12.23.696107

Imagery-based fear conditioning enhances the late positive potential

Panitz, C., & Mueller, E. M. (2026) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-025-01385-y · Cited by 2

How Temporal Predictability of Threat and Action Preparation Affect Defensive Freezing Responses

Koppold, A., Ehlers, M. R., Kastrinogiannis, A., Klaassen, F. H., Roelofs, K., & Lonsdorf, T. B. (2026) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.70278 · Cited by 2

[These authors contributed equally: Nicolas W. Schuck, Ondrej Zika.]

Verra, L., Spitzer, B., Schuck, N. W., & Zika, O. (2026) · MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society)

Vicarious Extinction Attenuates Reinstatement of High‐Intensity Fear: The Role of the Acquisition‐To‐Extinction Interval

Feng, B., Ai, X., Huang, F., Chen, W., & Zheng, X. (2026) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.70344

The physiological foundation of extinction improvement by tDCS over the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in healthy humans: an fMRI study

Chhabra, H., Ma, Y., Genç, E., Nitsche, M. A., & Yavari, F. (2026) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-026-04190-4

Reader’s comprehension of indirect replies is affected by the speaker’s motives in the late stage: evidence from oculomotor and electrodermal activities

Li, Y., Feng, W., & Zhou, X. (2026) · Language Cognition and Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/23273798.2026.2705939

Electrophysiological investigation of long-term threat discrimination learning in social anxiety disorder

Unterschemmann, S., Panitz, C., Bierwirth, P., Petereit, P., Comteße, H., Sperl, M. F. J., Hermann, C., & Mueller, E. M. (2026) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2026.105127

Modulating safety memory: Intermittent theta burst stimulation over the ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Vandormael, M., Goossens, L., Cort, K. D., Brouwer, J., van der Velde, T., de Vos, J. H., Schuhmann, T., & Schruers, K. R. J. (2026) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2026.105136

Fear conditioning and extinction do not differ between trauma-exposed individuals with and without clinical diagnoses of PTSD: A pre-registered analysis of a large sample

Davidson, P., Daffre, C., Oliver, K. I., Seo, J., Moore, K. N., Gazecki, S., Lasko, N. B., Orr, S. P., Milad, M. R., & Pace-Schott, E. F. (2026) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2026.105118

Trait anxiety is associated with reduced coupling between physiological dynamics and adaptive learningPreprint

Ventura‐Bort, C., Klingelhöfer-Jens, M., Mertens, G., Wong, A. H. K., Xia, Y., Andres, E., Kuhn, M., Bouwman, V., Engelhard, I. M., Lonsdorf, T. B., et al. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-10905008/v1

A systematic review and meta-analysis of fear conditioning in children who have experienced childhood trauma or maltreatment

Whalen, M., Beech, A., Paterson, M., Riser, M., & Kredlow, M. A. (2026) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2026.105170

Distinct Visual Pathways of Threat Retrieval in Fear‐Conditioned Faces

Weidner, E. M., Götze, M., Taday, A., & Kissler, J. M. (2026) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.70429

Don’t fear “fear conditioning”: Methodological considerations for the design and analysis of studies on human fear acquisition, extinction, and return of fear

Lonsdorf, T. B., Menz, M. M., Andreatta, M., Fullana, M. A., Golkar, A., Haaker, J., Heitland, I., Hermann, A., Kuhn, M., Kruse, O., et al. (2017) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.02.026 · Cited by 837

Addendum: Preventing the return of fear in humans using reconsolidation update mechanisms

Schiller, D., Monfils, M., Raio, C. M., Johnson, D. C., LeDoux, J. E., & Phelps, E. A. (2018) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0405-7 · Cited by 13

Preventing the return of fear in humans using reconsolidation update mechanisms: A verification report of Schiller et al. (2010)

Chalkia, A., Oudenhove, L. V., & Beckers, T. (2020) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2020.03.031 · Cited by 61

Methodological implications of sample size and extinction gradient on the robustness of fear conditioning across different analytic strategies

Ney, L. J., Laing, P. A. F., Steward, T., Zuj, D. V., Dymond, S., Harrison, B. J., Graham, B. M., & Felmingham, K. L. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0268814 · Cited by 10

curated data collection (the FEAR BASE)Preprint

Lonsdorf, T., & Ehlers, M. R. (2022) · OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)