Neuroscience

CaBP1 and 2 enable sustained CaV1.3 calcium currents and synaptic transmission in inner hair cells

1. David Oestreicher
2. Shashank Chepurwar
3. Kathrin Kusch
4. Vladan Rankovic
5. Sangyong Jung
6. Nicola Strenzke
7. Tina Pangrsic

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This fundamental work substantially advances our understanding of the role of calcium-binding proteins 1 and 2 (CaBP1 and CaBP2) for generating sustained calcium currents in mouse inner hair cells and their capacity for indefatigable exocytosis. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with rigorous in vitro and in vivo physiological experiments and state-of-the-art microscopy. The work will be of broad interest to synaptic physiologists, cellular biochemists, and hearing researchers.

Reviewed by eLife

Linking the evolution of two prefrontal brain regions to social and foraging challenges in primates

1. Sebastien Bouret
2. Emmanuel Paradis
3. Sandrine Prat
4. Laurie Castro
5. Pauline Perez
6. Emmanuel Gilissen
7. Cecile Garcia

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study correlates the size of various prefrontal brain regions in primate species with socioecological variables like foraging distance and population density. The evidence presented is solid but the approach and conclusions are limited to primates with well-defined gyri.

Reviewed by eLife

A Myelin Map of Trunk Folds in the Elephant Trigeminal Nucleus

1. Noémie Reveyaz
2. Undine Schneeweiß
3. Olivia Heise
4. Ben Gerhardt
5. Andreea M Gui
6. Lena V Kaufmann
7. Jette Alfken
8. Jakob Reichmann
9. Tim Salditt
10. Thomas Hildebrandt
11. Michael Brecht

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study uses neuroanatomical techniques to investigate somatosensory projections from the elephant trunk to the brainstem. Given its unique specializations, understanding how the elephant trunk is represented within the brain is of general interest to evolutionary and comparative neuroscientists. The authors present solid evidence for the existence of a novel isomorphism in which the folds of the trunk are mapped onto the trigeminal nucleus; however, due to their unusual structure, some uncertainty remains about the identification and anatomical organization of nuclei within the elephant brainstem.

Reviewed by eLife

When and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control?

1. Marine Schimel
2. Ta-Chu Kao
3. Guillaume Hennequin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study provides a new perspective on why preparatory activity occurs before the onset of movement. The authors report that when there is a cost on the inputs, the optimal inputs should start before the desired network output for a wide variety of recurrent networks. The authors present compelling evidence by combining mathematically tractable analyses in linear networks and numerical simulation in nonlinear networks.

Reviewed by eLife

CAT: a computational anatomy toolbox for the analysis of structural MRI data

1. Christian Gaser
2. Robert Dahnke
3. Paul M Thompson
4. Florian Kurth
5. Eileen Luders
6. the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Reviewed by GigaScience

Age-related decline in blood-brain barrier function is more pronounced in males than females in parietal and temporal regions

1. Xingfeng Shao
2. Qinyang Shou
3. Kimberly Felix
4. Brandon Ojogho
5. Xuejuan Jiang
6. Brian T Gold
7. Megan M Herting
8. Eric L Goldwaser
9. Peter Kochunov
10. Elliot Hong
11. Ioannis Pappas
12. Meredith Braskie
13. Hosung Kim
14. Steven Cen
15. Kay Jann
16. Danny JJ Wang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents a valuable finding that the blood-brain barrier functionality changes with age and differs between males and females. The analysis is solid, comprising a large and racially diverse dataset, and utilizes a contrast-agent-free MRI method. Since limited work has been done in the MRI field on the blood-brain barrier using this method, this study is of great interest to neuroimaging researchers and clinicians.

Reviewed by eLife

High-frequency terahertz stimulation alleviates neuropathic pain by inhibiting the pyramidal neuron activity in the anterior cingulate cortex of mice

1. Wenyu Peng
2. Pan Wang
3. Chaoyang Tan
4. Han Zhao
5. Kun Chen
6. Huaxing Si
7. Yuchen Tian
8. Anxin Lou
9. Zhi Zhu
10. Yifang Yuan
11. Kaijie Wu
12. Chao Chang
13. Yuanming Wu
14. Tao Chen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  Peng et al. reported important findings that 36THz high-frequency terahertz stimulation (HFTS) could suppress the activity of pyramidal neurons by enhancing the conductance of voltage-gated potassium channels. The significance of the findings in this paper is that chronic pain remains a significant medical problem, and there is a need to find non-pharmacological interventions for treatment. The authors present convincing evidence that high-frequency stimulation of the anterior cingulate cortex can alter neuronal activity and improve sensory pain behaviors in mice.

Reviewed by eLife

Muscle-resident mesenchymal progenitors sense and repair peripheral nerve injury via the GDNF-BDNF axis

1. Kyusang Yoo
2. Young-Woo Jo
3. Takwon Yoo
4. Sang-Hyeon Hann
5. Inkuk Park
6. Yea-Eun Kim
7. Ye Lynne Kim
8. Joonwoo Rhee
9. In-Wook Song
10. Ji-Hoon Kim
11. Daehyun Baek
12. Young-Yun Kong

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The study has identified a cell type in muscle that is characterized as an adipogenic progenitor cell that is capable of promoting regeneration through the action of BDNF, a prominent growth factor regulated by GDNF in Schwann cells. These results represent an important cellular explanation for nerve regeneration. The revised analysis is solid but the work remains incomplete due to a lack of evidence that BDNF is produced during the process through the action of GDNF.

Reviewed by eLife

Adverse impact of female reproductive signaling on age-dependent neurodegeneration after mild head trauma in Drosophila

1. Changtian Ye
2. Ryan Ho
3. Kenneth H Moberg
4. James Q Zheng

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The authors have presented an interesting set of results showing that female sex peptide signaling adversely affects late-life neurodegeneration after early-life exposure to repetitive mild head injury in Drosophila. This fundamental work substantially advances our understanding of how sex-dependent response to TBI occurs by identifying the Sex Peptide and the immune system as modulators of sex differences. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling with rigorous inclusion of controls and appropriate statistics.

Reviewed by eLife

Updating the sulcal landscape of the human lateral parieto-occipital junction provides anatomical, functional, and cognitive insights

1. Ethan H Willbrand
2. Yi-Heng Tsai
3. Thomas Gagnant
4. Kevin S Weiner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The present work provides new insights into detailed brain morphology. Using state-of-the-art methods, it provides compelling evidence for the relevance of sucal morphology for the precise localization of brain function. The fundamental findings have great relevance for the fields of imaging neuroscience and individualized medicine as ever-improving techniques improve precision to the point where individual brain anatomy is taking centre stage.

Reviewed by eLife