Neuroscience

Physiological roles of endocytosis and presynaptic scaffold in vesicle replenishment at fast and slow central synapses

1. Satyajit Mahapatra
2. Tomoyuki Takahashi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  Following synaptic vesicle fusion events at release sites, vesicle remnants will need to be cleared in order to allow new rounds of vesicle docking and fusion. This fundamental study of Mahapatra and Takahashi examines the role of release site clearance in synaptic transmission during repetitive activity in two types of central synapses, the giant calyx of Held and hippocampal CA1 synapses. The study uses pharmacological approaches to interfere with release site clearance by blocking membrane retrieval (endocytosis). The results also show how pharmacological inhibition of scaffold proteins affects short-term plasticity. The data presented make a compelling case for fast endocytosis as necessary for rapid site clearance and vesicle recruitment to active zones. The data reveal an unexpected, fast role for local site clearance in counteracting synaptic depression.

Reviewed by eLife

Visual working memories are abstractions of percepts

1. Ziyi Duan
2. Clayton E Curtis

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper provides valuable insights into the neural substrates of human working memory. Through clever experimental design and rigorous analyses, the paper provides compelling evidence that the working memory representation of stimulus orientation is a reformatted version of the presented stimulus, though more work is needed to establish more generally that visual working memories are abstractions of percepts. This work will be of broad interest to cognitive neuroscientists working on the neural bases of visual perception and memory.

Reviewed by eLife

Activation of the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway suppresses mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and motor phenotypes in C9orf72 ALS/FTD models

1. Wing Hei Au
2. Leonor Miller-Fleming
3. Alvaro Sanchez-Martinez
4. James AK Lee
5. Madeleine J Twyning
6. Hiran A Prag
7. Laura Raik
8. Scott P Allen
9. Pamela J Shaw
10. Laura Ferraiuolo
11. Heather Mortiboys
12. Alexander J Whitworth

Reviewed by Review Commons

Distance and grid-like codes support the navigation of abstract social space in the human brain

1. Zilu Liang
2. Simeng Wu
3. Jie Wu
4. Wen-Xu Wang
5. Shaozheng Qin
6. Chao Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study tackles a significant question: Does the brain apply spatial navigation systems to evaluate decision options in conceptual social spaces? The investigation is useful as it seeks to address this intriguing hypothesis. The findings offer partial support: a solid analysis revealed characteristic grid-like patterns associated with decision-making directions. However, it remains uncertain whether these effects are genuinely due to navigating a conceptual social space or potentially confounded by changes in visual stimuli. The experimental design may not be capable of definitively resolving this issue.

Reviewed by eLife

Genetically defined nucleus incertus neurons differ in connectivity and function

1. Emma D Spikol
2. Ji Cheng
3. Michelle Macurak
4. Abhignya Subedi
5. Marnie E Halpern

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents an important finding on the anatomical connectivity and functional roles of the previously uncharacterized neuronal populations in the nucleus incertus. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, with imaging and manipulations of the genetically targeted populations of neurons. The work presents a significant milestone for future mechanistic studies of the nucleus incertus.

Reviewed by eLife

Neural activity ramps in frontal cortex signal extended motivation during learning

1. Josue M Regalado
2. Ariadna Corredera Asensio
3. Theresa Haunold
4. Andrew C Toader
5. Yan Ran Li
6. Lauren A Neal
7. Priyamvada Rajasethupathy

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important manuscript provides compelling experimental evidence of extended motivational signals encoded in the mouse anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) that are implemented by orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)-to-ACC signaling during learning. The experimental methods used were state-of-the-art. These results will be of interest to those interested in cortical function, learning, and/or motivation.

Reviewed by eLife

Neurexins control the strength and precise timing of glycinergic inhibition in the auditory brainstem

1. He-Hai Jiang
2. Ruoxuan Xu
3. Xiupeng Nie
4. Zhenghui Su
5. Xiaoshan Xu
6. Ruiqi Pang
7. Yi Zhou
8. Fujun Luo

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study provides important insights into the role of neurexins as regulators of synaptic strength and timing at the glycinergic synapse between neurons of the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body and the lateral superior olive, key components of the auditory brainstem circuit involved in computing sound source location from differences in the intensity of sounds arriving at the two ears. Through an elegant combination of genetic manipulation, fluorescence in-situ hybridization, ex vivo slice electrophysiology, pharmacology and optogenetics, the authors provide compelling and rigorous evidence to support their claims. While further work is needed to reveal the mechanistic basis by which neurexins influence glycinergic neurotransmission, this work will be of interest to both auditory and synaptic neuroscientists.

Reviewed by eLife

Tracking the neurodevelopmental trajectory of beta band oscillations with optically pumped magnetometer-based magnetoencephalography

1. Lukas Rier
2. Natalie Rhodes
3. Daisie O Pakenham
4. Elena Boto
5. Niall Holmes
6. Ryan M Hill
7. Gonzalo Reina Rivero
8. Vishal Shah
9. Cody Doyle
10. James Osborne
11. Richard W Bowtell
12. Margot Taylor
13. Matthew J Brookes

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study provides important evidence supporting the ability of a new type of neuroimaging, OPM-MEG system, to measure beta-band oscillation in sensorimotor tasks in 2-14 years old children and to demonstrate the corresponding development changes, since neuroimaging methods with high spatiotemporal resolution that could be used on small children are quite limited. The evidence supporting the conclusion is compelling. This work will be of interest to the neuroimaging and developmental science communities.

Reviewed by eLife

On the variability of dynamic functional connectivity assessment methods

1. Mohammad Torabi
2. Georgios D Mitsis
3. Jean-Baptiste Poline

Reviewed by GigaScience

Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits

1. Corinna S. Oswell
2. Sophie A. Rogers
3. Justin G. James
4. Nora M. McCall
5. Alex I. Hsu
6. Gregory J. Salimando
7. Malaika Mahmood
8. Lisa M. Wooldridge
9. Meghan Wachira
10. Adrienne Jo
11. Raquel Adaia Sandoval Ortega
12. Jessica A. Wojick
13. Katherine Beattie
14. Sofia A. Farinas
15. Samar N. Chehimi
16. Amrith Rodrigues
17. Jacqueline K. Wu
18. Lindsay L. Ejoh
19. Blake A. Kimmey
20. Emily Lo
21. Ghalia Azouz
22. Jose J. Vasquez
23. Matthew R. Banghart
24. Kevin T. Beier
25. Kate Townsend Creasy
26. Richard C. Crist
27. Charu Ramakrishnan
28. Benjamin C. Reiner
29. Karl Deisseroth
30. Eric A. Yttri
31. Gregory Corder

Reviewed by Arcadia Science