Neuroscience

Cholinergic blockade reveals a role for human hippocampal theta in memory encoding but not retrieval

1. Tamara Gedankien
2. Jennifer Kriegel
3. Erfan Zabeh
4. David McDonagh
5. Bradley Lega
6. Joshua Jacobs

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental work advances our understanding of the role of human hippocampal theta oscillations in memory encoding and retrieval. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, using both scopolamine administration and intracranial EEG recordings. This work will be of broad interest to neuroscientists and has translational implications.

Reviewed by eLife

Mesoscale functional architecture in medial posterior parietal cortex

1. Riichiro Hira
2. Leah B Townsend
3. Ikuko T Smith
4. Che-Hang Yu
5. Jeffrey N Stirman
6. Yiyi Yu
7. Spencer LaVere Smith

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental study measures the functional specialization of distinct subregions within the mouse posterior parietal cortex (PPC) using mesoscopic two-photon calcium imaging during visual discrimination and choice history-dependent tasks. It presents compelling evidence supporting the existence of functional specialized subregions within the PPC. The work will be of interest to system and computational neuroscientists interested in decision-making, working memory, and multisensory integration.

Reviewed by eLife

Readout and delayed transmission of initial afferent V1 activity in decisions about stimulus contrast

1. Kieran S Mohr
2. Simon P Kelly

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reports that EEG recordings of the earliest stage of information processing in human visual cortex can be used to predict subsequent choice responses. The findings provide novel, convincing evidence for integrative processing in low-level sensory cortices at the level of scalp-recorded potentials, with the exact nature of the neural signals at the single cell level to be determined. The paper is likely to be of interest to neuroscientists interested in the contribution of early sensory signals to decision making.

Reviewed by eLife

iGABASnFR2: Improved genetically encoded protein sensors of GABA

1. Ilya Kolb
2. Jeremy P Hasseman
3. Akihiro Matsumoto
4. Thomas P Jensen
5. Olga Kopach
6. Benjamin J Arthur
7. Yan Zhang
8. Arthur Tsang
9. Daniel Reep
10. Getahun Tsegaye
11. Jihong Zheng
12. Ronak H Patel
13. Loren L Looger
14. Jonathan S Marvin
15. Wyatt L Korff
16. Dmitri A Rusakov
17. Keisuke Yonehara
18. GENIE Project Team
19. Glenn C Turner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript reports the development and characterization of iGABASnFR2, a genetically encoded GABA sensor that demonstrates substantially improved performance compared to its predecessor, iGABASnFR1. The work is comprehensive and methodologically rigorous, combining high-throughput mutagenesis, functional screening, structural analysis, biophysical characterization, and in vivo validation. The significance of the findings is fundamental, and the supporting evidence is compelling. iGABASnFR2 represents a notable advance in GABA sensor engineering, enabling enhanced imaging of GABA transmission both in brain slices and in vivo, and constitutes a timely, technically robust addition to the molecular toolkit for neuroscience research.

Reviewed by eLife, PREreview

The transcription factor BCL11A restores differentiation potential to aged oligodendrocyte progenitor cells

1. Tanay Ghosh
2. Roey Baror
3. Chao Zhao
4. Amar Sharma
5. Nick Goldman
6. Robin JM Franklin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study demonstrates molecular changes associated with age related impairment in oligodendrocyte differentiation and ability to myelinate. The identification of particular genes that are associated with this decline will provide potential future targets for therapeutic interventions. The reviewers felt that the quality of the evidence was solid while identifying some minor weaknesses that if addressed would enhance the rigor of the study.

Reviewed by eLife

ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCES DURING SLEEP: LUCID DREAMS, SLEEP PARALYSIS, OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES, AND FALSE AWAKENINGS

1. Nerea L. Herrero
2. Yohann Corfdir
3. Aylin A. Vázquez-Chenlo
4. Lucila Capurro
5. Cecilia Forcato

Reviewed by preLights

Contributions of insula and superior temporal sulcus to interpersonal guilt and responsibility in social decisions

1. Maria Gädeke
2. Tom Willems
3. Omar Salah Ahmed
4. Bernd Weber
5. René Hurlemann
6. Johannes Schultz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript provides valuable novel insights into the role of interpersonal guilt in social decision-making by showing that responsibility for a partner's bad lottery outcomes influences happiness. Through the integration of neuroimaging and computational modelling methods, and by combining findings from two studies, the authors provide solid support for their claims. The findings will be of interest to researchers in the field of social neuroscience and decision making.

Reviewed by eLife

Ventral Hippocampal Temporoammonic and Schaffer Collateral Pathways Differentially Control Fear- and Anxiety-Related Behaviors

1. Maltesh Kambali
2. Muxiao Wang
3. Rajasekar Nagarajan
4. Jinrui Lyu
5. Howard Gritton
6. Uwe Rudolph

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Kambali et al use optogenetic manipulations to examine whether the ventral hippocampal Schaffer collateral (vCA3-to-vCA1) and temporoammonic (EC-to-vCA1) pathways regulate anxiety- and fear-related behaviors in mice. They find that both pathways regulate the expression of fear (freezing) responses to a context and auditory conditioned stimulus paired with foot shock (trace conditioning protocol), but only the Schaffer collateral pathway regulates the expression of anxiety-related behaviors in the elevated plus maze, open field test, and Vogel conflict test. Overall, the study is valuable: it detects bidirectional effects of optogenetic excitation and inhibition in both pathways. However, the strength of the evidence in support of its main claims is incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Death receptor 6 does not regulate axon degeneration and Schwann cell injury responses during Wallerian degeneration

1. Bogdan Beirowski
2. Haoran Huang
3. Elisabetta Babetto

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this valuable study, through carefully executed and rigorously controlled experiments, the authors challenged a previously reported role of the Death Receptor 6 (DR6/Tnfrsf21) in Wallerian degeneration (WD). Using two DR6 knockout mouse lines and multiple WD assays, both in vitro and in vivo, the authors provided convincing evidence that loss of DR6 in mice does not protect peripheral axons from WD after injury, at least in the specific contexts of the mice and analyses performed in this study. Due to the lack of certain specific parameters from previous studies (sex, age, mouse strains etc.), the exact reasons underlying the observed inconsistencies between current and previous reports on the protective effects of DR6 remains to be determined. Overall, this is a carefully executed study providing invaluable information toward understanding DR6's role (or lack thereof) in axon degeneration.

Reviewed by eLife

Strong mnemonic prediction errors increase cognitive control, attention, and arousal

1. Alice M Xue
2. Jenna Jokhani
3. Anthony M Norcia
4. Anthony D Wagner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study characterizes a cascade of neural processes triggered by memory-based prediction errors. The study uses an impressive collection of approaches and methods to characterize and measure cognitive control, arousal, and memory changes as a function of memory-based violations. The analyses are technically sophisticated and rigorous and, taken together, provide solid evidence that there are multiple processes accompanying prediction errors, and that they differentially relate to successful encoding. The manuscript would be much improved by the addition of a discussion or visual schematic that integrates the numerous findings together into a more coherent model.

Reviewed by eLife