Neuroscience

Inversely proportional myelin growth due to altered Pmp22 gene dosage identifies PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling as a novel therapeutic target in HNPP

1. Doris Krauter
2. David Ewers
3. Timon J Hartmann
4. Stefan Volkmann
5. Theresa Kungl
6. Robert Fledrich
7. Sandra Goebbels
8. Klaus-Armin Nave
9. Michael W Sereda

Reviewed by Review Commons

Multicore fiber optic imaging reveals that astrocyte calcium activity in the cerebral cortex is modulated by internal motivational state

1. Yung-Tian A. Gau
2. Eric Hsu
3. Jaepyeong Cha
4. Rebecca W. Pak
5. Loren L. Looger
6. Jin U. Kang
7. Dwight E. Bergles

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Nested circuits mediate the decision to vocalize

1. Shuyun Xiao
2. Valerie Michael
3. Richard Mooney

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  Vocalizations are controlled by neural circuits connecting the amygdala and periaqueductal gray. This study presents valuable measures of the neurons that suppress vocalization in appropriate contexts using a rich variety of behavioural, imaging, optogenetic, and tracing methodologies. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, although their results only hint at the mechanisms that could underlie the hierarchical control of vocalization. The work will be of interest to neurobiologists working on motor control and vocalization.

Reviewed by eLife

How honey bees make fast and accurate decisions

1. HaDi MaBouDi
2. James AR Marshall
3. Neville Dearden
4. Andrew B Barron

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents important findings on the decision-making capacities of honey bees in controlled conditions. The evidence supporting the study is solid, however, the explanation of the methods, importance, and novelty of the study requires further clarification. With a deeper development of the relevance of this study, the reader will have a clear idea of how this study contributes to the field.

Reviewed by eLife

Inferring causal connectivity from pairwise recordings and optogenetics

1. Mikkel Elle Lepperød
2. Tristan Stöber
3. Torkel Hafting
4. Marianne Fyhn
5. Konrad Paul Kording

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This useful study adapts methods from causal inference to develop analytical tools for determining the causal influence of single cells on downstream neurons. The simulation evidence is solid, suggesting that these causal methods produce better estimates under biologically-relevant confounds given enough data, although the practical application of the method and the biophysics it relies on is unclear. Nonetheless, this application of causal methods developed in econometrics and other fields could suggest new ways to think about largely observational datasets in neuroscience.

Reviewed by eLife

Cerebellar Activation Bidirectionally Regulates Nucleus Accumbens Core and Medial Shell

1. Alexa F. D’Ambra
2. Ksenia Vlasov
3. Se Jung Jung
4. Swetha Ganesan
5. Evan G. Antzoulatos
6. Diasynou Fioravante

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The study expands our understanding of the neural circuitry downstream of the cerebellum by describing pathways between the deep cerebellar nuclei and the nucleus accumbens. The authors use a combination of in vivo electrophysiology, electrical and optogenetic stimulation, and both anterograde and retrograde tracing to demonstrate two functional neural pathways. The experiments convincingly support the claims. The finding extends previous investigations about the connections between these two brain areas, and are important for elucidating the role of the cerebellum in influencing functions supported by the nucleus accumbens, such as motivation and reward.

Reviewed by eLife

ASTRA: a deep learning algorithm for fast semantic segmentation of large-scale astrocytic networks

1. Jacopo Bonato
2. Sebastiano Curreli
3. Sara Romanzi
4. Stefano Panzeri
5. Tommaso Fellin

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Anterior forebrain pathway in parrots is necessary for producing learned vocalizations with individual signatures

1. Zhilei Zhao
2. Han Kheng Teoh
3. Julie Carpenter
4. Frieda Nemon
5. Brian Kardon
6. Itai Cohen
7. Jesse H. Goldberg

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Mesoscale volumetric light field (MesoLF) imaging of neuroactivity across cortical areas at 18 Hz

1. Tobias Nöbauer
2. Yuanlong Zhang
3. Hyewon Kim
4. Alipasha Vaziri

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

α1-Adrenergic receptor–PKC–Pyk2–Src signaling boosts L-type Ca2+ channel CaV1.2 activity and long-term potentiation in rodents

1. Kwun Nok Mimi Man
2. Peter Bartels
3. Peter B Henderson
4. Karam Kim
5. Mei Shi
6. Mingxu Zhang
7. Sheng-Yang Ho
8. Madeline Nieves-Cintron
9. Manuel F Navedo
10. Mary C Horne
11. Johannes W Hell

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study reports of a new signaling pathway in hippocampal neurons by which alpha-1 receptors for norepinephrine regulates Cav1.2 calcium channels; activation of alpha-1 receptors enhances a form of long-lasting synaptic plasticity that is dependent on L-type calcium channels. The experiments are comprehensive and well executed although additional data are warranted to compellingly support the main conclusions. The work has significance for the field of neuroscience in general and for cellular mechanisms of neuroregulation in particular.

Reviewed by eLife