Neuroscience

Arm Control and its Recovery after Selective Lesions of Sensorimotor Cortex and the Red Nucleus: A Kinematic Study in Non-Human Primates

1. Anna Baines
2. Annie Poll
3. Anne ME Baker
4. John W Krakauer
5. Stuart N Baker

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study describes how selective lesions of key cortical and subcortical motor areas affect reaching actions in macaque monkeys. The results will be of interest to both basic and clinical researchers studying the neural control of movement. Kinematic analysis of movement quality is solid but could be improved by considering other metrics, especially those that relate to grasping. Evidence for the general claims related to the role of specific motor areas is incomplete because the lesions did not fully eliminate any single area while simultaneously involving neighbouring areas.

Reviewed by eLife

Cell type transcriptomics reveal shared genetic mechanisms in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

1. Anwesha Bhattacharya
2. Edward A. Fon
3. Alain Dagher
4. Yasser Iturria-Medina
5. Jo Anne Stratton
6. Chloe Savignac
7. Jack Stanley
8. Liam Hodgson
9. Badr Ait Hammou
10. David A Bennett
11. Danilo Bzdok

Reviewed by GigaScience

Astrocytic Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay regulates calcium signaling to support synapse function and restrain anxiety

1. Pablo J Lituma
2. Aykut Deveci
3. Estibaliz Barrio-Alonso
4. Kun Tan
5. Miles F Wilkinson
6. Pablo E Castillo
7. Dilek Colak

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study provides the first in vivo evidence that nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) in mature astrocytes regulates astrocyte function, synaptic plasticity, and anxiety-related behavior. Using a broad range of approaches, the authors show that conditional deletion of Upf2 alters astrocyte morphology and calcium signaling while impairing synaptic transmission and plasticity, providing solid support for the central conclusion that astrocytic NMD influences neural circuit function. Some key mechanistic claims remain incompletely supported, including whether phenotypes reflect astrocyte remodeling versus loss, the interpretation of synaptic engulfment data, the link between NMD targets and calcium signaling, and the extent to which calcium dysregulation explains the observed synaptic and behavioral effects.

Reviewed by eLife

Efficient Working Memory Maintenance via High-Dimensional Rotational Dynamics

1. Laura Ritter
2. Angus Chadwick

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study investigates noise-robust and energy-efficient circuit mechanisms for working memory by optimizing connectivity and reports that the resulting networks exhibit rotational dynamics and better match aspects of PFC population recording. However, the supporting evidence remains incomplete, given the restricted linear, task-specific training and analysis, and limited comparisons with other prominent models. The manuscript would be strengthened by extending the analysis to nonlinear dynamics, providing more rigorous comparisons with alternative models, and establishing a stronger link to prior theoretical and experimental work.

Reviewed by eLife