Neuroscience

Early Metabolic Alterations in Cerebrospinal Fluid Fatty Acid Profiles Linked to Cognitive Decline and All-Cause Dementia

1. Jacob Apibilla Ayembilla
2. Yannick N. Wadop
3. Rebecca Bernal
4. Biniyam A. Ayele
5. Murali Sargurupremraj
6. Xueqiu Jian
7. Alfred K. Njamnshi
8. Sudha Seshadri
9. Alice B. S. Nono Djotsa
10. Jayandra Jung Himali
11. Bernard Fongang
12. Alfred Fonteh

Reviewed by PREreview

Removal of developmentally regulated microexons has a minimal impact on larval zebrafish brain morphology and function

1. Caleb CS Calhoun
2. Mary ES Capps
3. Kristie Muya
4. William C Gannaway
5. Verdion Martina
6. Claire L Conklin
7. Morgan C Klein
8. Jhodi M Webster
9. Emma G Torija-Olson
10. Summer B Thyme

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work examines how microexons contribute to brain activity, structure, and behavior. The authors find that loss of microexon sequences generally has subtle impacts on these metrics in larval zebrafish, with few exceptions. The evidence is solid, using modern high-throughput phenotyping methodology in zebrafish. Overall, this work will be of interest to neuroscientists and generate further studies of interest to the field.

Reviewed by eLife

Chronic stress impairs autoinhibition in neurons of the locus coeruleus to increase asparagine endopeptidase activity

1. Hiroki Toyoda
2. Doyun Kim
3. Byeong Geon Koh
4. Tomomi Sano
5. Takashi Kanematsu
6. Seog Bae Oh
7. Youngnam Kang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental study explores a novel cellular mechanism underlying the degeneration of locus coeruleus neurons during chronic restraint stress. The evidence supporting the overexcitation of LC neurons after chronic stress is compelling. The topic is timely, the proposed mechanistic pathway is innovative, and the findings have translational relevance, particularly regarding therapeutic strategies targeting α2A-AR internalization in neurodegenerative diseases.

Reviewed by eLife

The electrogenicity of the Na+/K+-ATPase poses challenges for computation in highly active spiking cells

1. Liz Weerdmeester
2. Jan-Hendrik Schleimer
3. Susanne Schreiber

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study provides new insights into the lesser-known effects of the sodium-potassium pump on how nerve cells process signals, particularly in highly active cells like those of weakly electric fish. The computational methods used to establish the claims in this work are compelling and can be used as a starting point for further studies.

Reviewed by eLife

Distinct evolutionary trajectories of two integration centres, the central complex and mushroom bodies, across Heliconiini butterflies

1. Max S. Farnworth
2. Yi Peng Toh
3. Theodora Loupasaki
4. Elizabeth A. Hodge
5. Basil el Jundi
6. Stephen H. Montgomery

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The analysis of neural morphology across Heliconiini butterfly species revealed brain area-specific changes associated with new foraging behaviours. While the volume of the centre for learning and memory, the mushroom bodies, was known to vary widely across species, new, valuable results show conservation of the volume of a center for navigation, the central complex. The presented evidence is convincing for both volumetric conservation in the central complex and fine neuroanatomical differences associated with pollen feeding, delivered by experimental approaches that are applicable to other insect species. This work will be of interest to evolutionary biologists, entomologists, and neuroscientists.

Reviewed by eLife

Regional heterogeneities of oligodendrocytes determine biased distribution pattern of Ranvier nodes along single axons in sound localization circuit

1. Ryo Egawa
2. Kota Hiraga
3. Ryosuke Matsui
4. Dai Watanabe
5. Hiroshi Kuba

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study uses the delay line axon model in the chick brainstem auditory circuit to examine the interactions between oligodendrocytes and axons in the formation of internodal distances. This is a significant and actively studied topic, and the authors have used this preparation to support the hypothesis that regional heterogeneity in oligodendrocytes underlies the observed variation in internodal length. In a solid series of experiments, the authors have used enhanced tetanus neurotoxin light chains, a genetically encoded silencing tool, to inhibit vesicular release from axons and support the hypothesis that regional heterogeneity among oligodendrocytes may underlie the biased nodal spacing pattern in the sound localization circuit.

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

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

Astrocytes mobilize a broader repertoire of lysosomal repair mechanisms than neurons

1. Erin M. Smith
2. Natali L. Chanaday
3. Sandra Maday

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Dual-format attentional template during preparation in human visual cortex

1. Yilin Chen
2. Taosheng Liu
3. Ke Jia
4. Jan Theeuwes
5. Mengyuan Gong

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  By combining the 'pinging' technique with fMRI-based multivariate pattern analysis, this important study provides compelling evidence for a dual-format representation of attention during the preparatory period. The findings help reconcile the debate between sensory-like and non-sensory accounts of attentional templates and shed light on how the brain flexibly deploys different forms of templates to guide attention. This work will be of broad interest to researchers in psychology, vision science, and cognitive neuroscience.

Reviewed by eLife

Selective life-long suppression of an odor processing channel in response to critical period experience

1. Hans C Leier
2. Julius Jonaitis
3. Alexander J Foden
4. Abigail J Wilkov
5. Annika E Ross
6. Paola Van der Linden Costello
7. Heather T Broihier
8. Andrew M Dacks

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study in the Drosophila antennal lobe, which contains multiple non-equivalent sensory channels, provides valuable new insight into how early-life sensory experience can produce lasting, cell-type-specific changes in neural circuit function. The work convincingly demonstrates that glial-mediated pruning during a defined developmental window leads to persistent suppression of odor responses in one olfactory neuron type, while sparing another. The evidence is solid and supported by multiple complementary approaches, although some mechanistic interpretations remain speculative and would benefit from additional functional testing.

Reviewed by eLife

Spatially Periodic Computation in the Entorhinal-Hippocampal Circuit During Navigation

1. Bo Zhang
2. Xin Guan
3. Dean Mobbs
4. Jia Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable results on how entorhinal and hippocampal activity may support human thinking in perceptual spaces. It replicates the hexagonal symmetry of fMRI activity in the entorhinal cortex, reports novel findings on 3-fold symmetry in both behavioral performance and hippocampal fMRI activity, and links these results within a computational model. However, the methods – while potentially creative and interesting – are not fully justified or explained, and the conclusions remain incomplete. With further explanation, justification, and interpretation, this work could represent a significant step forward in understanding how cognitive maps are utilized.

Reviewed by eLife