Neuroscience

High-resolution volumetric imaging constrains compartmental models to explore synaptic integration and temporal processing by cochlear nucleus globular bushy cells

1. George A Spirou
2. Matthew Kersting
3. Sean Carr
4. Bayan Razzaq
5. Carolyna Yamamoto Alves Pinto
6. Mariah Dawson
7. Mark H Ellisman
8. Paul B Manis

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This manuscript provides a structural analysis of bushy cells in the mouse cochlear nucleus. These neurons receive a large synaptic contact from the auditory nerve termed an endbulb that preserves the temporal information present in the auditory nerve and are key elements of binaural sound localization circuits. The analysis combines volume electron microscopy techniques with computational models to predict heterogeneous bushy cell responses. The analysis takes morphological analysis of bushy cells to a new level, and the modeling is well done.

Reviewed by eLife

Aerobic exercise reverses aging-induced depth-dependent decline in cerebral microcirculation

1. Paul Shin
2. Qi Pian
3. Hidehiro Ishikawa
4. Gen Hamanaka
5. Emiri T Mandeville
6. Shuzhen Guo
7. Buyin Fu
8. Mohammed Alfadhel
9. Srinivasa Rao Allu
10. Ikbal Şencan-Eğilmez
11. Baoqiang Li
12. Chongzhao Ran
13. Sergei A Vinogradov
14. Cenk Ayata
15. Eng Lo
16. Ken Arai
17. Anna Devor
18. Sava Sakadžić

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study shows that exercise improves cerebrovascular function during aging using convincing methods, the authors show that aerobic exercise reverses aging-induced deficits in microvascular perfusion and oxygenation and potentially improves short-term memory. This work will be of broad interest to researchers and clinicians studying vascular function, age-related cognitive decline, and the effects of aerobic exercise on reversing age-related dysfunction.

Reviewed by eLife

Tracing the development and lifespan change of population-level structural asymmetry in the cerebral cortex

1. James M Roe
2. Didac Vidal-Pineiro
3. Inge K Amlien
4. Mengyu Pan
5. Markus H Sneve
6. Michel Thiebaut de Schotten
7. Patrick Friedrich
8. Zhiqiang Sha
9. Clyde Francks
10. Espen M Eilertsen
11. Yunpeng Wang
12. Kristine B Walhovd
13. Anders M Fjell
14. René Westerhausen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  Roe et al. provide a large-sample analysis of hemispheric lateralisation in brain structure, synthesising local cortical thickness and surface area data from 7 different datasets. The study provides a rich descriptive catalogue of phenomena related to hemispheric anatomical asymmetries. These results are convincing and will prove an important point of reference to neuroscientists who might want to compare their own future results to the ones from this large and varied data set.

Reviewed by eLife

Pseudorabies virus hijacks DDX3X, initiating an addictive “mad itch” and immune suppression, to facilitate viral spread

1. Shane J. F. Cronin
2. Miguel A. Tejada
3. Ren Song
4. Kathlyn Laval
5. Domagoj Cikes
6. Ming Ji
7. Annalaura Brai
8. Johannes Stadlmann
9. Maria Novatchikova
10. Thomas Perlot
11. Omar Hasan Ali
12. Lorenzo Botta
13. Thomas Decker
14. Jelena Lazovic
15. Astrid Hagelkruys
16. Lynn Enquist
17. Shuan Rao
18. Orkide O. Koyuncu
19. Josef M. Penninger

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Loss of the extracellular matrix protein Perlecan disrupts axonal and synaptic stability during Drosophila development

1. Ellen J Guss
2. Yulia Akbergenova
3. Karen L Cunningham
4. J Troy Littleton

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents valuable new insights into the role of the extracellular matrix component (ECM) Perlecan in axon integrity, with downstream consequences for the maintenance of synaptic structures. The evidence for Perlecan's role in this process is solid, although negative results for Perlecan's mechanism of action should be strengthened with the addition of appropriate controls centered on the relevant pathways and mechanisms involved as well as more careful analyses and interpretations. The authors provide convincing data identifying and describing the cellular sequence from ECM perturbations to axonal and synaptic degeneration, but additional data pinpointing the requirements of Perlecan for axonal maintenance would further improve the impact of this study.

Reviewed by eLife

Spatiotemporal dynamics of sensory neuron and Merkel-cell remodeling are decoupled during epidermal homeostasis

1. Rachel C. Clary
2. Blair A. Jenkins
3. Ellen A. Lumpkin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The present study offers valuable insights into the remodeling of Merkel cells and their innervating sensory axons in the skin. This remodelling seems to be mostly played out independently between the two synaptic partners revealing significant Merkel cell turnover and axonal plasticity. The authors employed live imaging and quantification tools using genetic models in which parts of the mechanosensory organs of the skin are labelled with distinct fluorescent proteins. While most of the data, and their interpretations are solid, the analyses of Merkel cell number homeostasis remain incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Epigenetically distinct synaptic architecture in clonal compartments in the teleostean dorsal pallium

1. Yasuko Isoe
2. Ryohei Nakamura
3. Shigenori Nonaka
4. Yasuhiro Kamei
5. Teruhiro Okuyama
6. Naoyuki Yamamoto
7. Hideaki Takeuchi
8. Hiroyuki Takeda

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment:

  This important paper highlights the clonal organization of the dorsal telencephalon, a major region of the vertebrate brain, and analyzes the distinctive gene expression and chromatin accessibility present in each clonal using the adult teleost fish medaka. High-quality data were collected using convincing and solid methods and these were used to identify synaptic genes with a distinct chromatin landscape and expression in one of the regions of the dorsal pallium, with the goal of ascribing an evolutionary origin to these neurons.

Reviewed by eLife

Adult-born granule cells improve stimulus encoding and discrimination in the dentate gyrus

1. Diego M Arribas
2. Antonia Marin-Burgin
3. Luis G Morelli

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper is of potential interest to both the hippocampal and computational neuroscience fields because it provides a framework for understanding how adult-born granule cells in the hippocampus contribute to network processing. It contains novel interesting ideas, such as the analysis of input-output transformation by SRM models and the establishment of "greedy networks". However, not all major conclusions are sufficiently supported by the data. The paper demonstrates that mixed networks show better encoding performance than pure networks, but the differences are small and only visible with specific performance metrics. Intuitive explanations are not provided.

Reviewed by eLife

Role of the postinspiratory complex in regulating swallow–breathing coordination and other laryngeal behaviors

1. Alyssa Huff
2. Marlusa Karlen-Amarante
3. Luiz M Oliveira
4. Jan-Marino Ramirez

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The findings in this study are important, as this brainstem region is implicated in a multitude of functions. The experimental procedures are difficult to implement and the preparation used and the skill required are impressive. The methods and data are solid, however, some analyses are incomplete, and the strength of evidence is also incomplete because the claims are only partially supported by the data. This work will interest those who study respiration, airway protection, and other oral behaviors.

Reviewed by eLife

Neuromodulation of striatal D1 cells shapes BOLD fluctuations in anatomically connected thalamic and cortical regions

1. Marija Markicevic
2. Oliver Sturman
3. Johannes Bohacek
4. Markus Rudin
5. Valerio Zerbi
6. Ben D Fulcher
7. Nicole Wenderoth

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  Using chemogenetic manipulation, the authors induce or suppress activity in D1 spiny neurons in the dorsomedial striatum of mice. The results effectively demonstrate that excitation or inhibition of this class of neurons results in a consistent behavioral effect that is linked to an impact on local dynamics in thalamic regions that project to this part of the thalamus, as well as cortical regions that can be more readily defined as unimodal as identified by a classification approach. This work has clear relevance to the field of neuroimaging, getting at the broader hemodynamic signatures of direct pathway stimulation in the striatum, but requires critical revisions to justify their main conclusions.

  Using chemogenetic manipulation, the authors induce or suppress activity in D1 spiny neurons in the dorsomedial striatum of mice. The results effectively demonstrate that excitation or inhibition of this class of neurons results in a consistent behavioral effect that is linked to an impact on local dynamics in thalamic regions that project to this part of the thalamus, as well as cortical regions that can be more readily defined as unimodal as identified by a classification approach. This work has clear relevance to the field of neuroimaging, getting at the broader hemodynamic signatures of direct pathway stimulation in the striatum, but requires critical revisions to justify their main conclusions.

Reviewed by eLife