Neuroscience

Resolving synaptic events using subsynaptically targeted GCaMP8 variants

1. Jiawen Chen
2. Junhao Lin
3. Kaikai He
4. Luyi Wang
5. Yifu Han
6. Chengjie Qiu
7. Jasmine M Wheeler
8. Catherine M Daly
9. Gregory T Macleod
10. Dion K Dickman

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this important study, the authors engineered and characterised novel genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) and an analytical tool (CaFire) capable of reporting and quantifying various sub-synaptic events, including miniature synaptic events, with a speed and sensitivity approaching that of intracellular electrophysiological recordings. They present compelling data validating this toolset, which will be of interest to neurobiologists studying synaptic calcium dynamics in various model systems.

Reviewed by eLife

Precision cutaneous stimulation in freely moving mice

1. Isobel Parkes
2. Ara Schorscher-Petcu
3. Qinyi Gan
4. Liam E Browne

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study combines real-time key point tracking with transdermal activation of sensory neurons as a general technique to explore how somatosensory stimulation impacts behavior in freely moving mice. After addressing concerns about classification of the behavioral responses to nociceptor stimulation, the authors now convincingly demonstrate a state-dependence in the behavioral response following nociceptor activation, highlighting how their real-time optogenetic stimulation capabilities can yield new insights into complex sensory processing. This work is a technological advancement that will be of interest to a broad readership, in particular labs studying somatosensation, enabling rigorous investigation of behaviors that were previously difficult or impossible to study.

Reviewed by eLife

Complex environmental cycles reveal evolution of circadian activity waveform and thermosensitive timeless splicing

1. Pragya Niraj Sharma
2. Vasu Sheeba

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study examines how mismatched light and temperature cycles shape Drosophila locomotor timing and temperature-dependent timeless splicing, and leverages long-term early/late selection lines to probe evolutionary plasticity. The strength of evidence is incomplete at present, mainly because startle/masking under step cues could confound the behavioural readouts, and tim's involvement remains correlative. The authors should address masking in the behaviour analyses and provide causal support for tim's role.

Reviewed by eLife

Skull Bone Marrow Drainage and Its Associations with Inflammation, Sleep Quality, and Cognitive Performance

1. Ying Zhou
2. Haidi Jin
3. Xiao Zhu
4. Yifei Li
5. Ziyu Zhou
6. Xin Huang
7. Huihong Ke
8. Mengmeng Fang
9. Jianzhong Sun
10. Min Lou

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a well-executed intrathecal MRI tracer study that provides valuable early in vivo evidence for CSF drainage into human skull bone marrow and explores clinically relevant associations using robust imaging methodology and regional analyses. However, the evidence supporting the interpretation of early (4 h) tracer signal as impaired clearance is incomplete, and appears difficult to reconcile with established CSF tracer kinetics. They also note that the reported links to sleep and cognitive performance are weakened by reliance on subjective, retrospective questionnaires rather than objective physiological measurements.

Reviewed by eLife

Domain-adaptive matching bridges synthetic and in vivo neural dynamics for neural circuit connectivity inference

1. Kaiwen Sheng
2. Shanghang Zhang
3. Shenjian Zhang
4. Yutao He
5. Maxime Beau
6. Peng Qu
7. Xiaofei Liu
8. Youhui Zhang
9. Lei Ma
10. Kai Du

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This article reports an algorithm for inferring the presence of synaptic connection between neurons based on naturally occurring spiking activity of a neuronal network. One key improvement is to combine self-supervised and synthetic approaches to learn to focus on features that generalize to the conditions of the observed network. This valuable contribution is currently supported by incomplete evidence.

Reviewed by eLife

The UAP56 mRNA Export Factor is Required for Dendrite and Synapse Pruning via Actin Regulation in Drosophila

1. Samuel Matthew Frommeyer
2. Ulrike Gigengack
3. Sandra Rode
4. Matthew Davies
5. Sebastian Rumpf

Reviewed by Review Commons

AutoMorphoTrack: A modular framework for quantitative analysis of organelle morphology, motility, and interactions at single-cell resolution

1. Armin Bayati
2. Jackson G Schumacher
3. Xiqun Chen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This work describes a useful computational tool for automated morphometry of dynamic organelles from microscope images. However, the supporting evidence and novelty of the manuscript as presented are incomplete and could be improved. The work will be of interest to microscopists and bioimage analysts who are non-experts but wish to improve quantitative analysis of cellular structures.

Reviewed by eLife

Multiple event segmentation mechanisms in the human brain

1. Tan T Nguyen
2. Joset A Etzel
3. Matthew A Bezdek
4. Jeffrey M Zacks

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study tests whether prediction error or prediction uncertainty controls how the brain segments continuous experience into events. The paper uses validated models that predict human behavior to analyze multivariate neural pattern changes during naturalistic movie watching. The authors provide solid evidence that there are overlapping but partially distinct brain dynamics for each signal.

Reviewed by eLife

Rank- and Threat-Dependent Social Modulation of Innate Defensive Behaviors

1. Ling-yun Li
2. Xinjian Gao
3. Ya-tang Li

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors investigate how dominance hierarchy shapes defensive strategies in mice under two naturalistic threats: a transient visual looming stimulus and a sustained live rat. This study provides important insights into how social context and dominance hierarchy modulate innate defensive behaviors across distinct naturalistic threats. The strength of evidence is convincing, with detailed classification and analysis of behaviors.

Reviewed by eLife

Decoding state specific connectivity during speech production and perception

1. Yasamin Esmaeili
2. Amirhossein Khalilian-Gourtani
3. Orrin Devinsky
4. Werner K Doyle
5. Patricia Dugan
6. Daniel Friedman
7. Adeen Flinker

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This work represents a valuable finding of how single-trial functional connectivity may be used to infer different cognitive states involved in speech perception and production. Although the data and analyses are overall convincing, the theoretical advance and novelty of the finding are less clear. With a clearer idea of the functional significance of the connectivity data, the paper would be of interest to those interested in brain networks and communication.

Reviewed by eLife