Neuroscience

eLife assessment

This manuscript reports the response by cortical interneurons from mice expressing genetically defined fluorescent markers to sensory stimulation performed in awake animals without anesthesia. The data show in some cases distinct responses in specific neuron types. This manuscript contains unique information that will be valuable to other researchers in the field and influence future research in the field of cortical GABAergic neurons.

eLife assessment

This solid study addresses the functionality of neurovascular coupling in response to somatosensory stimuli in premature neonates based on a compelling methodology combining recordings with fMRI and EEG (microstates approach). While the findings are important for the understanding of the emergence of brain sensory processing, more extended analyses of inter- and intra-subjects' variability are required to support the results interpretation and determine the influence of important factors impacting brain maturation and activity. With the theoretical and analytical parts strengthened, this study will be of interest to developmental neuroscientists and neuroimaging specialists and might have important clinical implications in the field of neonatology.

eLife assessment

This is an important paper that evaluates the roles of long descending propriospinal neurons in the recovery of walking ability after spinal cord injury. The data are convincing overall though some weaknesses in the evaluation of the completeness of the synaptic silencing strategy were identified. The data will be of interest to those who study spinal circuitry and its role in locomotor function after spinal cord injury.

eLife assessment

This important study combines rigorous behavior and single-unit recordings in nonhuman primates to investigate the role of three cortical areas in cross-modal sensory calibration, a form of neural plasticity that is important for perception and learning. The results convincingly demonstrate key similarities and striking differences across the three areas, and provide the first evidence for this form of calibration (in correspondence with behavior) at the level of single neurons. The work will be of broad interest to neuroscientists and psychologists studying multisensory perception, plasticity, and the role of sensory and association cortices in perceptual decisions.

eLife assessment

This valuable study examines a largely ignored brain structure (the thalamus) in functional brain imaging studies. In general, the study shows convincing evidence from the reanalysis of two task-based MRI studies that localized thalamic regions show hub properties in terms of their activation properties and connectivity to cortical regions. While the strength of the study is that converging evidence was shown across two large data sets, the empirical support for some of the claims in the current version remains incomplete.

eLife assessment

This is a fundamental study that demonstrates that ongoing neuronal activity plays a key role in the vulnerability of specific neuronal cell types in layer 2 of the entorhinal cortex that communicates with the hippocampus. The authors provide compelling evidence that chronic silencing of inhibitory but not excitatory neurons in the entorhinal cortex leads to their degeneration. Reelin-positive interneurons were the most vulnerable to silencing. The authors propose that developmental mechanisms associated with activity-dependent programmed cell death could be aberrantly reactivated in the context of Alzheimer's disease.

eLife assessment

This paper presents findings from a novel experimental study of the dynamics of human overground running on naturalistically uneven terrain. The terrain used in the experiments has mildly stochastic undulating roughness, a condition that closely resembles many natural terrain conditions, such as trail running. The authors present evidence that humans use open-loop intrinsically stable strategies to run on this terrain, and do not visually guided foot placement. The findings make an important contribution toward understanding the context-dependent role of vision in navigating uneven terrain.

eLife assessment

Tran-Van-Minh et al., attempt to develop a statistical approach which will allow consolidation of new, as well as previously-acquired datasets, to yield biologically significant insights into the logic underlying rabies vectors' expansion from single starter cells. While such work is called for, many of the premises presented here will need to be significantly adjusted, before the approach could be put into widespread use.

eLife assessment

This study presents an important finding on the decoy effect in multiattribute economic choices in humans. It makes a compelling case for the conclusion that the distractor effect reported in previous articles was confounded with the additive utility difference between the available alternatives. Though the contribution is somewhat narrowly focused with respect to the phenomenon that it addresses - the distractor effect in risky choice, it is important for understanding this particular phenomenon. The main weakness is the complexity of the current manuscript.

eLife assessment

This manuscript provides the first cellular analysis of how neuronal activity in axons (in this case the optic nerve) regulates the diameter of nearby blood vessels and hence the energy supply to neuronal axons and their associated cells. This is an important subject because, in a variety of neurological disorders, there is damage to the white matter that may result from a lack of sufficient energy supply. This paper will stimulate work on this important subject.