Neuroscience

Method of loci training yields unique prefrontal representations that support effective memory encoding

1. Jingyuan Ren
2. Boris N. Konrad
3. Yannan Zhu
4. Fan Li
5. Michael Czisch
6. Martin Dresler
7. Isabella C. Wagner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a useful array of analyses of the effects of training and/or instruction to use the method of loci during episodic encoding and retrieval. A major strength of the experiment is the impressive recruitment of memory athletes and the training of novice athletes to use the method of loci, long known to improve the precision of memory recall. That said, the sheer number of results and their organization should be addressed; streamlining the results and placing them, whenever possible, in a theoretical framework will be tremendously useful to readers. As it stands, the presented work is incomplete with respect to the major conclusions that training itself leads to neural differentiation of prefrontal cortical neural patterns, and the authors need to temper these claims.

Reviewed by eLife

A non-human primate model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

1. Rachael H. A. Jones
2. Luciano Saieva
3. Fabien Balezeau
4. Ian Schofield
5. Caroline McCardle
6. Mark R. Baker
7. Stuart N. Baker

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental study provides a major contribution to our understanding of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) pathogenesis by utilizing a primate model that overcomes the historical limitations of rodent paradigms. By demonstrating the retrograde and trans-synaptic spread of pathological TDP-43 from the periphery to the spinal cord and motor cortex, the authors propose a new model for the disease spreading. The evidence supporting these findings is compelling, characterized by rigorous post-mortem histological observations. This work will be of profound interest to neuroscientists and translational researchers seeking to decode the mechanisms of systemic disease progression in ALS.

Reviewed by eLife

The long-range gene regulatory landscape of cerebellar granule neuron progenitors

1. Kimberley LH Riegman
2. Charlotte George
3. Danielle E Whittaker
4. Mohi U Ahmed
5. Haiyang Yun
6. Brian JP Huntly
7. David Sims
8. Cameron S Osborne
9. M Albert Basson

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This work provides a map of enhancer-promoter interactions associated with genes controlling the development of a specific neuronal cell population. The study offers a valuable resource and integrates multiple complementary datasets to provide insights into regulatory mechanisms, although the conceptual advances are moderate and the central message could be clearer. The evidence supporting the conclusions is generally solid, but the lack of direct functional testing of key regulatory elements limits the strength of some claims.

  [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

Reviewed by eLife

Involuntary feedback responses reflect a representation of partner actions

1. Seth R Sullivan
2. John H Buggeln
3. Jan A Calalo
4. Truc T Ngo
5. Jennifer A Semrau
6. Michael J Carter
7. Joshua GA Cashaback

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study concerns the propagation of waves in bacterial biofilms, bridging active matter physics and bacterial biophysics. The experimental observations are solid, and the theoretical interpretation and model validation have been refined with revisions. This work will be of interest to microbiologists, biophysicists, and researchers studying collective behavior in biological systems.

Reviewed by eLife

Neurotrophin-3 produced by motor neurons non-cell autonomously regulate the development of pre-motor interneurons in the developing spinal cord

1. Andrea Angla-Navarro
2. Ana Dominguez Bajo
3. Mathilde Toch
4. Cédric Francius
5. Maria Hidalgo-Figueroa
6. Jingwen Zhang
7. Olivier Schakman
8. Manon Martin
9. Xiuqian Mu
10. René Rezsohazy
11. Françoise Gofflot
12. Frédéric Clotman

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a useful study that seeks to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying spinal motor circuit assembly. The authors demonstrate that loss of Onecut transcription factors in spinal motor neurons affects the size and spatial distribution of pre-motor interneurons. However, the study in its current form is incomplete: the data and analyses do not fully support the main conclusion that Onecut acts through Neurotrophin-3 to regulate interneuron development in a non-cell autonomous manner. The work will be of broad interest to cell and developmental biologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Morphine regulates astrocyte transcriptional dynamics in the ventral tegmental area by stimulation of glucocorticoid signaling

1. Jennifer J Tuscher
2. Angela Cleere
3. Robert A Phillips
4. Catherine E Newman
5. Guy Twa
6. Nathaniel J Robinson
7. Lara Ianov
8. Robert E Sorge
9. Jeremy J Day

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study examines how chronic pain and opioid exposure interact at the cellular and molecular levels in a reward-related brain region. Using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, the authors map transcriptional changes in the rat ventral tegmental area following chronic inflammatory pain and acute morphine exposure. Notably, their convincing data support that acute morphine, not chronic pain, elicits a stress-related transcriptional response primarily in glial cells rather than neurons, challenging prevailing views of opioid action and supporting growing evidence for glucocorticoid signaling in glial responses. A limitation is the use of a single opioid dose and time point, and further discussion of these constraints would help clarify the broader implications of the findings.

Reviewed by eLife

Adult-neurogenesis allows for representational stability and flexibility in early olfactory system

1. Zhen Chen
2. Krishnan Padmanabhan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This paper presents an important theory and analysis of the role of neurogenesis and inhibitory plasticity in the drift of neural representations in the olfactory system. For one of the findings, regarding the impact of neurogenesis on the drift, the evidence remains incomplete. The reason lies in the differences in variability/drift of the mitral/tufted cell responses observed in the model compared to experimental observations, where these responses remain stable over extended time scales.

Reviewed by eLife

Serial Dependence Predicts Generalization in Perceptual Learning

1. Noga Pinchuk-Yacobi
2. Dov Sagi
3. Yoram S Bonneh

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental study describes long-range serial dependence of performance on a visual texture discrimination training task that manipulated conditions to induce differing degrees of location transfer of learning. The authors re-analyzed previously-published, behavioral data, generating compelling evidence from converging approaches that the serial dependence effects persist over multiple days of training, and may share a common causal mechanism with training-induced location transfer. By informing our understanding of the importance of temporal integration to long-term perceptual learning and its propensity towards specificity or generalizability, these results should interest neuroscientists who seek to uncover underlying neural mechanisms for these processes.

Reviewed by eLife

Programmed Cell Death Modifies Neural Circuits and Tunes Intrinsic Behavior

1. Alison Kochersberger
2. Dongyeop Lee
3. Mohammad Mahdi Torkashvand
4. Sandeep Kumar
5. Saba Baskoylu
6. Titas Sengupta
7. Noelle Koonce
8. Chloe E. Emerson
9. Nandan V. Patel
10. Daniel Colón-Ramos
11. Steven Flavell
12. Andrew M. Leifer
13. Vivek Venkatachalam
14. H. Robert Horvitz
15. Marc Hammarlund

Reviewed by Review Commons

Patient-Specific Midbrain Organoids with CRISPR Correction Recapitulate Neuronopathic Gaucher Disease Phenotypes and Enable Evaluation of Novel Therapies

1. Yi Lin
2. Benjamin Liou
3. Venette Fannin
4. Stuart Adler
5. Christopher N Mayhew
6. Jason E Hammonds
7. Yueh-Chiang Hu
8. Jason Tchieu
9. Wujuan Zhang
10. Xueheng Zhao
11. Rebecca L Beres
12. Kenneth DR Setchell
13. Ahmet Kaynak
14. Xiaoyang Qi
15. Ricardo A Feldman
16. Ying Sun

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides potentially important insights by establishing a human disease model and exploring therapeutic approaches. The evidence is generally convincing for descriptive and comparative findings. The authors present solid data, but evidence for proposed biological mechanisms and functional outcomes remains limited.

Reviewed by eLife