Neuroscience

eLife assessment

This important study demonstrates that the transcription factor TEAD1 is required for the function of Yap/Taz in Schwann cells, with conditional mouse mutants having very similar dysmyelinated phenotypes. Convincing histological evidence is shown for the role of TEAD1 itself, leaving open the function of other TEAD proteins in this system. This study will nevertheless be of great interest to researchers in the field of peripheral nerve development.

eLife assessment

This study examines an interplay between synaptic mitochondria and glutamate receptor exocytosis in C. elegans. Collectively, the solid results support the idea that mitochondrial function influences receptor dynamics at postsynaptic sites. This is important because tight control of synaptic function likely integrates several mitochondrial functions: energy production, calcium buffering, and (here) reactive oxygen species signaling.

eLife assessment

Payne et al. present a novel model that predicts the sites and directions of plasticity within the vestibular cerebellum to explain the basis for learned adjustments to reflexive eye movements in monkeys. The work is solid; the model is well constrained by prior biological observations and makes an important prediction about the level of feedback available to the cerebellar cortex post-learning. Overall, a number of exciting and testable experiments will likely be motivated by this study.

eLife assessment

Based on a technological advance which couples onboard calcium imaging with in vivo electrophysiology in freely behaving mice, this important work presents data about the modulation of some long range brain activity correlations during social interactions. Solid evidence shows that neural activity across cerebellum and cingulate cortex is more correlated during social behaviors than during non-social epochs. This study is of interest for a broad range of neurophysiologists.

eLife assessment

Miyano et al. study the impact of RIM-BP2 deletion at mossy fiber synapses, using direct electrophysiological recordings from mossy terminals and STED super-resolution microscopy. The paper addresses an important question in the field of synaptic transmission and provides compelling evidence demonstrating reduced calcium channel abundance in mossy terminals upon RIM-BP2 removal.

eLife assessment

This study documents important findings on three variants in SNAP25 that are associated with developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. The thorough characterization of synaptic release and in vitro vesicle fusion phenotypes provides interesting information about the nature of the SNAP25 variants. The evidence supporting the claims is compelling, and this work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on SNAP25, SNAP25-associated encephalopathy, and synaptic vesicle exocytosis.

eLife assessment

The authors use human intracranial recordings to investigate the relationship between the power of brain oscillations and the latency and strength of cortico-cortical couplings. In the current version, the authors provide a valuable finding that the delay between nearby electrodes in ECoG data is correlated with the amplitude of power, differently so for high and low frequencies. The findings of this study will interest investigators in the wider field of systems neurophysiology; however, editors and reviewers perceived headroom for improving clarity in the presentation of analyses and results, and the strength of evidence for some of the claims as currently presented was viewed as incomplete.

eLife assessment

This useful study compares gene expression patterns among different autonomic ganglia and will be of interest to developmental neuroscientists and neurophysiologists. The study expands the database of genes expressed by subpopulations of autonomic neurons in ganglia, a key step in decoding their developmental origins and physiological functions. The evidence supporting the alternative view that the pelvic ganglionic neurons are actually modified sympathetic neurons is incomplete and may cause confusion, given the enrichment of cholinergic neurons, as well as the large number of molecular and functional differences known to be present between cranial and sacral neurons.

eLife assessment

Zhang et al. deliver an important transcriptomic atlas of the human spinal cord, combining single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to unveil molecular insights. While convincingly overcoming Visium limitations using snRNA-seq, the manuscript is criticized for its largely observational approach and lack of quantitative analysis, especially in supporting claims about sex differences in motor neurons and DRG-spinal cord neuronal interactions.

eLife assessment

This work presents important findings for the field of Alzheimer's disease, especially for the electrophysiology subfield, by investigating the temporal evolution of different disease stages typically reported using M/EEG markers of resting-state brain activity. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing and the methodology as well as the descriptions of the processes are of high quality, although a separation of individuals who are biomarker positive versus negative would have strengthened the results and conclusions of the study.