n at the same wave but only if they are concurrently experiencing greater stress than usual. Downward fluctuations in problem-solving effectiveness are associated with lower relationship satisfaction but only among spouses who had chronically high levels of cumulative stress; when chronic stress is low, reduced problem-solving effectiveness is unrelated to satisfaction. Exclusive focus on between-couple variability in couple communication, without regard for the stressors that couples face, will likely restrict the understanding and prevention of relationship distress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).The Science of Behavior Change project represents a major advance in the way we approach the study of behavior and behavior change; the protocols in this special issue reflect the innovative approach to intervention development. Digital technology is transforming the way we conduct science and can greatly assist with developing protocols, reporting studies, and evidence synthesis. The journal Addiction has developed an online Paper Authoring Tool (PAT) for reporting full-scale randomized controlled trials that could also be used for reporting protocols and early phase trials. PAT aims to help authors ensure that they include all the required information and present it in a way that is clear and consistent in terms of language and phrasing. It also generates a computer-readable record that should greatly facilitate automation of evidence synthesis. this website PAT is intended to represent the first step in creation of a supportive ecosystem for the conduct of science, linking grant applications, study protocols, study reports, measures, reviews and study data in a coordinated online knowledge base. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).The Science of Behavior Change Network (SOBC) offers a pragmatic “experimental medicine” approach for advancing mechanisms of change regarding behavior. The key promise of the SOBC is to facilitate more effective knowledge accumulation about not only whether behavior change occurs in response to an intervention, but also how and why behavior change occurs. This work is being advanced during a time of rapid evolution on scientific best practices, particularly “open science” practices, which at their core, seek to increase the trustworthiness of science. The purpose of this commentary is to facilitate a broader discussion on opportunities and challenges involved with conducting mechanistic science related to behavior change (i.e., SOBC) via open science practices. The 10 studies published in this special issue highlight the considerable complexity involved in a mechanistic science of behavior change. Conducting this type of science will require a rich, multifaceted “team science” approach that can match that level of complexity, while constantly striving toward being as straightforward or as simple as possible, no simpler. Effective open science practices, which involve the sharing of resources whenever possible, can facilitate this type of team science. Moving to this new future would benefit from careful shifts in our scientific culture and financial models toward better supporting team and open science. In addition, there is also need for continued advancements in methods and infrastructure that can support the inherent complexities involved in advancing a mechanistic science of behavior change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).This study utilizes the Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) experimental medicine approach to evaluate the effects of a 3-month, individually prescribed progressive exercise training program on neurobiological, cognitive and motivational mechanisms by which our exercise-training paradigm may foster exercise maintenance. We will investigate hypothesized relationships between exercise-training associated augmentation of neuropeptide Y (NPY) system function and improvements in self-regulation and reward sensitivity-cognitive control and motivational processes posited to promote self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation, which have been shown to predict exercise maintenance. This study will recruit Veterans with chronic low back pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Procedures include a baseline, acute cardiopulmonary exercise challenge assessment that will inform the exercise prescription for a 12-week progressive exercise training program comprised of three 45-minute aerobic exercise sessions per week-all of which will be supervised by an exercise physiologist. Additionally, a week-7 and week-14 exercise challenge assessment will track changes in NPY system function and the variables of interest. We hypothesize that increases in the capacity to release NPY in response to acute exercise testing will be associated with improvements in self-regulation and reward sensitivity, which will in turn be associated with self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation to maintain regular exercise. Ninety participants will be randomized either to the “active exercise training condition” or to the “wait list symptom monitoring condition”. The study aims to demonstrate the feasibility of procedures and elucidate mechanisms relevant to developing individually prescribed, motivationally based exercise regimens to reduce negative consequences of PTSD and low back pain over the long-term. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).Low income and low educational attainment are among the strongest predictors of both smoking prevalence and lapse (i.e., return) to smoking after cessation attempts. Treatment refinement is limited by inadequate knowledge of the specific lapse- or relapse-relevant vulnerabilities characteristic of populations that should be the target of treatment. In the context of a randomized clinical trial design, we describe an experimental medicine approach for evaluating the role of 2 specific lapse-relevant targets relative to the higher stress characteristic of low-socioeconomic contexts low distress tolerance and low working memory capacity. Furthermore, we use an innovative approach for understanding risk of smoking lapse in smokers undergoing a quit attempt to examine candidate mechanistic targets assessed not only during nicotine use, but also during the conditions smokers will face upon a cessation attempt-during stressful nicotine-deprivation windows. This study is designed to show the incremental value of assessments during deprivation windows, in part because of the way in which specific vulnerabilities are modified by, and interact with, the heightened stress and withdrawal symptoms inherent to nicotine-deprivation states.