Neuroscience

eLife Assessment

This valuable study presents the first detailed and comprehensive description of brain sulcus anatomy of a range of carnivoran species based on a robust manual labeling model allowing species comparisons. The database and method for reconstructing cortical surfaces are compelling, and the evidence supporting the conclusions is solid. Despite the additional specimen, the evaluation of intra-species variations remains limited, but an insight into the inter-individual variability is now available for certain species. Exploring the associations between sulcal length and behavioral characteristics further suggests the potential of sulci as a proxy of functional organization. Setting an instructive foundation for comparative anatomy, this study will be of interest to neuroscientists and neuroimaging researchers interested in that field, as well as in brain morphology and sulcal patterns, their phylogeny and ontogeny in relation to functional development and behaviour.

eLife Assessment

This important study provides new insights into the neuronal dynamics of the locus coeruleus in relation to hippocampal sharp-wave ripples. Using high-temporal-resolution, multi-site electrophysiological recordings in rats, the authors present solid evidence supporting their main claims. Nonetheless, some aspects of the evidence remain incomplete, and several points in the data presentation would benefit from clarification. Overall, the work will be of interest to neuroscientists studying large-scale brain coordination and memory processes.

eLife Assessment

This study used deep neural networks (DNN) to reconstruct voice information (viz., speaker identity), from fMRI responses in the auditory cortex and temporal voice areas, and assessed the representational content in these areas with decoding. A DNN-derived feature space approximated the neural representation of speaker identity-related information. The findings are valuable and the approach solid, yielding insight into how a specific model architecture can be used to relate the latent spaces of neural data and auditory stimuli to each other.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study uses mathematical modeling and analysis to address the question of how neural circuits generate distinct low-dimensional, sequential neural dynamics that can change on fast, behaviorally relevant timescales. The authors propose a circuit model in which spatially heterogeneous inhibition constrains network dynamics to sequential activity on distinct neural subspaces and allows top-down sequence selection on fast timescales. The study convincingly demonstrates how this mechanism could operate and makes predictions about connectivity patterns and dynamics.

eLife Assessment

This is an important study on how dissociable emotions of shame and guilt emerge from cognitive processes and guide behavioral responses. The task is well designed and yields compelling behavioral, computational, and neural evidence elucidating the cognitive link between emotions and compensatory decisions. The work has broad theoretical and practical implications across a range of disciplines concerned with human behavior, including psychology, neuroscience, economics, public policy, and psychiatry.

eLife Assessment

This study used a conditional knockout mouse line to remove Ptbp1 in retinal progenitors and demonstrated that its deletion has no effect on retinal neurogenesis or cell fate specification, thereby challenging the prevailing view of Ptbp1 as a master regulator of neuronal fate. The data are convincing, supported by transcriptomic analysis, histology, and proliferation assays. This study is important, and the broader implications for other CNS regions warrant further investigation.

eLife Assessment

This study provides evidence for distinct neurotransmitter release modalities between two subclasses of dopaminergic neurons in the olfactory bulb. Specifically, it demonstrates dendritic neurotransmitter release in anaxonic neurons and axonal release in axon-bearing neurons. The presence of GABAergic self-inhibition in anaxonic neurons further underscores the functional divergence between these subtypes. Overall, the manuscript presents solid evidence and offers biologically important insights into the organization and function of dopaminergic circuits within the olfactory bulb.

eLife Assessment

This important study characterises the morphogenesis of cortical folding in the ferret and human cerebral cortex using complementary physical and computational modelling. Notably, these approaches are applied to charting, in the ferret model, known abnormalities of cortical folding in humans. The study finds convincing evidence that variation in cortical thickness and expansion account for deviations in morphology, and supports these findings using cutting-edge approaches from both physical gel models and numerical simulations. The study will be of broad interest to the field of developmental neuroscience.

eLife Assessment

This important study reveals that connexin43 (Cx43) hemichannels are directly activated by CO₂ through a conserved carbamylation motif, extending a mechanism previously described for β-connexins to α-connexins. The evidence is convincing, supported by complementary biochemical and electrophysiological analyses showing CO₂-induced hemichannel opening and ATP release in cultured cells and hippocampal slices. These findings advance our understanding of connexin regulation by metabolic gases and will be of broad interest to researchers studying cell communication, neural signaling, and gasotransmitter biology.

eLife Assessment

This study thoroughly assesses tactile acuity on women's breasts, for which no dependable data currently exists. The study provides two important contributions, by convincingly showing that tactile acuity on the breast is poor in comparison to other body parts, and that acuity is worst in larger breasts, indicating that the number of tactile sensors is fixed. However, further arguments concerning the role of the nipple in spatial localisation are not well supported by the current evidence, therefore diluting the overall contribution of the study. This study will be of interest to the broader community of touch, as well as those interested in breast reconstruction and sexual function.