Update: Resurgence as Choice and Response Effort: An Interdisciplinary Collaboration Assessing Resurgence in Humans

By Carolyn Ritchey, 2020 Innovative Student Research Grants (Thesis) Grantee

Progress Report

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the activity over the past year on the grant entitled “Resurgence as Choice and Response Effort: An Interdisciplinary Collaboration Assessing Resurgence in Humans.” Briefly, the goal of this grant is to introduce a novel and interdisciplinary laboratory procedure for directly evaluating the effects of response effort on resurgence in humans. A better understanding of the role of response effort in resurgence will inform clinical practice by suggesting methods for improving treatment implementation and mitigating relapse during treatment challenges.

The work proposed for the grant was severely impacted by COVID-19 and the research team has been unable to collect data in accordance with the proposed timeline. The Brain and Behavior laboratory at Auburn University (where data will be collected for the proposed project) stopped in-person data collection when the university transitioned to remote instruction in March of 2020.

On March 25, 2021, the research team met to begin planning for the transition back into the lab for in-person data collection. Given that all proposed methods require direct contact with participants in a small, indoor laboratory setting, we are preparing a revised IRB application with COVID-19 safety protocols. We will submit this to the IRB by April 15, 2021.

Learn more about Carolyn Ritchey and her project.