Neuroscience

Autophagy activity is inhibited by hnRNP R

1. Changhe Ji

Reviewed by PREreview

Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish

1. Laurie Anne Lamiré
2. Martin Haesemeyer
3. Florian Engert
4. Michael Granato
5. Owen Randlett

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable manuscript attempts to identify the brain regions and cell types involved in habituation to dark flash stimuli in larval zebrafish. Habituation being a form of learning widespread in the animal kingdom, the investigation of neural mechanisms underlying it is a worthwhile endeavor. The authors use a combination of behavioral analysis, neural activity imaging, and pharmacological manipulation to investigate brain-wide mechanisms of habituation. While the data presented are solid, the authors conclude that there is no simple relationship between pharmacological intervention, neural activity patterns, and behavioral outcomes, and a robust causative link can therefore not be established.

Reviewed by eLife

A translational MRI approach to validate acute axonal damage detection as an early event in multiple sclerosis

1. Antonio Cerdán Cerdá
2. Nicola Toschi
3. Constantina A Treaba
4. Valeria Barletta
5. Elena Herranz
6. Ambica Mehndiratta
7. Jose A Gomez-Sanchez
8. Caterina Mainero
9. Silvia De Santis

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper conducts human and rodent experiments of non-invasive diffusion MRI estimates of axon diameter with the aim to establish whether these estimates provide biologically specific markers of axonal degeneration in MS. It will be of interest to researchers developing quantitative MRI methods and scientists studying neurodegeneration. The experiments provide evidence for the sensitivity of these markers, but do not directly validate axon diameter and do not reflect common pathological mechanisms across rodents and humans.

Reviewed by eLife

Exposure to high-sugar diet induces transgenerational changes in sweet sensitivity and feeding behavior via H3K27me3 reprogramming

1. Jie Yang
2. Ruijun Tang
3. Shiye Chen
4. Yinan Chen
5. Kai Yuan
6. Rui Huang
7. Liming Wang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents an important finding that high-sugar diet-induced behavioral changes can be transmitted to the offspring through the maternal germline. Using genetic and molecular biology approaches in the fruit fly model, the authors argue that this Lamarckian inheritance is mediated by germline-inherited chromatin and is regulated by the general activity of a histone methylase, and H3K27me3 modification plays a critical role in this transgenerational effect. The behavioral data are convincing, while the underlying molecular and neural mechanisms need to be strengthened. The work will be of great interest to behaviorists and epigeneticist.

Reviewed by eLife

Optogenetic induction of appetitive and aversive taste memories in Drosophila

1. Meghan Jelen
2. Pierre-Yves Musso
3. Pierre Junca
4. Michael D Gordon

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important work convincingly shows that taste memory formation requires the same circuit substrates and mechanisms as olfactory memory formation. While the exact mechanisms remain to be elucidated, the compelling data and approach represent a valuable foundation for the study of molecular and circuit mechanisms underpinning taste memory formation and the role of brain energy therein. This study will be of particular interest to the large community of scientists studying the mechanisms and circuits of memory formation in the fly and possibly beyond.

Reviewed by eLife

MicroRNA-218 instructs proper assembly of hippocampal networks

1. Seth R Taylor
2. Mariko Kobayashi
3. Antonietta Vilella
4. Durgesh Tiwari
5. Norjin Zolboot
6. Jessica X Du
7. Kathryn R Spencer
8. Andrea Hartzell
9. Carol Girgiss
10. Yusuf T Abaci
11. Yufeng Shao
12. Claudia De Sanctis
13. Gian Carlo Bellenchi
14. Robert B Darnell
15. Christina Gross
16. Michele Zoli
17. Darwin K Berg
18. Giordano Lippi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This fundamental study addresses the role of miRNA-218 in circuit development, seizure susceptibility, and behavior. The supporting experimental evidence provided by the authors is solid, although more mechanistic insight into how miRNA-218 controls neuronal cell type function during circuit development to then impact seizures and behavior would have strengthened the study. This work has broad implications for researchers working on the role of neuronal microRNA in neurodevelopmental and neurological diseases.

Reviewed by eLife

A sparse code for natural sound context in auditory cortex

1. Mateo López Espejo
2. Stephen V. David

Reviewed by PREreview

Dynamic X-chromosomal reactivation enhances female brain resilience

1. S Käseberg
2. M Bertin
3. R Menon
4. E Gabassi
5. H Todorov
6. S Frank
7. H Brennenstuhl
8. B Lohrer
9. J Winter
10. J Krummeich
11. J Winkler
12. B Winner
13. E Weis
14. D Hartwich
15. S Diederich
16. K Luck
17. S Gerber
18. P Lunt
19. B Berninger
20. S Falk
21. S Schweiger
22. M Karow

Reviewed by PREreview

Dynamic top-down biasing implements rapid adaptive changes to individual movements

1. Lucas Y Tian
2. Timothy L Warren
3. William H Mehaffey
4. Michael S Brainard

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  By recording simultaneously from premotor and primary motor cortical nuclei in singing birds, this paper provides compelling evidence that premotor activity covaries with primary activity with the temporal specificity necessary to promote learning and drive adaptive vocal variation. As the first study to record from two distant sites at once in singing birds, this study also provides exceptional evidence for temporally precise coordination between two motor areas in the service of vocal learning.

Reviewed by eLife

Criticality supports cross-frequency cortical-thalamic information transfer during conscious states

1. Daniel Toker
2. Eli Müller
3. Hiroyuki Miyamoto
4. Maurizio S Riga
5. Laia Lladó-Pelfort
6. Kazuhiro Yamakawa
7. Francesc Artigas
8. James M Shine
9. Andrew E Hudson
10. Nader Pouratian
11. Martin M Monti

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This manuscript investigates thalamocortical communication and cross-frequency coupling in humans and animal models under anesthesia and the effects of the serotonergic psychedelic compound 5-MeO-DMT. These findings are exciting because they put two different perturbations of brain functions - anesthesia and psychedelic stimulation - into a single modeling framework. The framework describes anesthesia and psychedelic stimulation as opposing perturbations from normal brain function that respectively reduce and enhance thalamocortical communication.

Reviewed by eLife