Neuroscience

eLife Assessment

This paper, on the role of calcium and integrin-binding protein 2 and 3 in the hair-cell in the mechano-electrical transduction (MET) apparatus, is a mix of confirmatory studies with new and potentially important data. Some parts, such as zebrafish studies, the modelling and simulations, are regarded as necessary and convincing. Other parts of the paper do not have the same novelty. Both Liang et al. (2021) and Wang et al. (2023) had previously demonstrated a role for CIB2/CIB3 in auditory and vestibular cells in mice. Moreover, there are also data in Riazuddin et al. (2012) paper that demonstrates the importance of CIB2 in zebrafish and Drosophila. Breaking the manuscript up to focus on specific aspects of the problem might alleviate the limitations of this multi-faceted study.

eLife assessment

This study presents valuable findings on the relative cerebral blood volume of non-human primates that move us closer to uncovering the functional and architectonic principles that govern the interplay between neuronal and vascular networks. The evidence of areal variations is solid, but that of vessel counting and laminar analysis is incomplete. The lack of a direct comparison of their approach against better-established MRI-based methods for measuring hemodynamics and vascular structure weakens the evidence provided in the current paper version. The work will be of interest to NHP imaging scientists.

eLife assessment

In this elegant and thorough study, Sánchez-León et al. investigate the effects of tDCS on the firing of single cerebellar neurons in awake and anesthetized mice. They find heterogeneous responses depending on the orientation of the recorded Purkinje cell. The paper is important in that it may well explain part of the controversial and ambiguous outcomes of various clinical trials. It is a well-written paper on a deeply analyzed dataset and the methods in the paper are generally convincing, with the current version having some weaknesses in statistical reporting and power.

eLife assessment

This work presents valuable findings of a modulatory effect of yohimbine, an alpha2-adrenergic antagonist that raises noradrenaline levels, on the reconsolidation of emotionally neutral word-picture pairs, depending on the hippocampal and cortical reactivation during retrieval. The evidence supporting the conclusion is incomplete so far, particularly considering concerns about the median-splitting approach for reaction times and hippocampal activity. The work will be of broad interest to researchers working on memory.

eLife assessment

This is a binocular rivalry study that uses ECG to present visual stimuli pulsing in line with cardiac events, to examine whether systole-entrained stimuli (i.e. presented during the period where the heart has contracted) are suppressed within visual awareness. Arguably out of line with this idea, the dominance durations were increased for systole-entrained stimuli. The manuscript addresses an important, precisely defined, and theoretically well-motivated question using sophisticated experimental and statistical methods. The interpretation of these results is not straightforward, however, such that they currently only provide incomplete support for the claims.

eLife assessment

This study presents valuable evidence concerning the potential for naturalistic movie-viewing fMRI experiments to reveal some features that are correlated with the functional and topographical organization of the developing visual system in awake infants and toddlers. The data are compelling given the difficulty of studying this population, the methodology is original and validated, and the evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing and in line with prior research using resting-state and awake task-based fMRI. This study will be of interest to cognitive neuroscientists and developmental psychologists, and in particular those interested in using fMRI to investigate brain organisation in pediatric and clinical populations with limited tolerance to fMRI.

eLife assessment

This study provides valuable evidence on the relationship between morphine-induced social deficits, corticotropin-releasing factor receptors, and alterations in neuronal activity in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus of mice (PVN). Convincing approaches and methods were used to show that the CRF1 receptor plays a role in sociability deficits occurring after acute morphine administration. Conclusions regarding mechanistic connections between the effect of modulation of CRF 1 receptor on sociability and PVN neuronal firing are, however, incompletely supported.

eLife assessment

The authors developed a method to allow a hypothermic agent, neurotensin, to cross the blood-brain barrier so it could potentially protect the brain from seizures and the adverse effects of seizures. The work is important because it is known that cooling the brain can protect it but developing a therapeutic approach based on that knowledge has not been done. The paper is well presented and the data are convincing. Revisions to clarify some of the methods and results improved the paper and more data about tolerability would improve the paper further.

eLife assessment

This valuable study characterises receptors for calcitonin-related peptides from a deuterostomian animal, the echinoderm Apostichopus japonicus, by a combination of heterologous expression, pharmacological experiments, and the quantification of gene-expression levels. The authors provide solid evidence for a functional calcitonin-related peptide system in the sea cucumber, but some of the phylogenetic and statistical analyses and the evidence of a physiological function are incomplete. This work should be of interest to scientists studying the signaling pathways, functions, and evolution of neuropeptides, and could be of relevance to improving the culture conditions of this economically key species.

eLife assessment

This useful study characterises motor and somatosensory cortex neural activity during naturalistic eating and drinking tongue movement in nonhuman primates. The data, which include both electrophysiology and nerve block manipulations, will be of value to neuroscientists and neural engineers interested in tongue use. However, data analysis needs to be improved to strengthen the inadequate support for some of the main claims in the paper.