Neuroscience

Multiplexing behavioral signals in sensory representations

1. Julia M. Mayer
2. Wiktor F. Młynarski

Reviewed by PREreview

Single molecule counting detects low-copy glycine receptors in hippocampal and striatal synapses

1. Serena Camuso
2. Yana Vella
3. Souad Youjil Abadi
4. Clémence Mille
5. Bert Brône
6. Christian G Specht

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The study presents convincing quantitative evidence, supported by appropriate negative controls, for the presence of low-abundance glycine receptors (GlyRs) within inhibitory synapses in telencephalic regions of the mouse brain. Using sensitive single-molecule localization microscopy of endogenously tagged GlyRs, the authors reveal previously undetected populations of these receptors. Although the functional significance of these low-abundance GlyRs remains to be established, the findings offer valuable insights and methodologies that will be of interest to neuroscientists studying inhibitory synapse biology.

  [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

Two classes of amine/glutamate multi-transmitter neurons innervate Drosophila internal male reproductive organs

1. Martha Chaverra
2. John Paul Toney
3. Lizetta D Dardenne-Ankringa
4. Jace Tolleson Knee
5. Ann R Morris
6. Joseph B Wadhams
7. Sarah J Certel
8. R Steven Stowers

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study characterizes with rigorous methodology anatomical and functional aspects of the peripheral innervation of the Drosophila male reproductive tract. The convincing analysis reveals two distinct types of glutamatergic neurons that co-release either serotonin or octopamine. While serotonergic neurons are required for male fertility, octopaminergic neurons are dispensable. The work is providing invaluable insight into neurochemical control of insemination, peripheral motor control and neuromodulation in the male reproductive tract.

Reviewed by eLife

Affinity-guided labeling reveals P2X7 nanoscale membrane redistribution during BV2 microglial activation

1. Benoit Arnould
2. Adeline Martz
3. Pauline Belzanne
4. Francisco Andrés Peralta
5. Federico Cevoli
6. Volodya Hovhannisyan
7. Yannick Goumon
8. Eric Hosy
9. Alexandre Specht
10. Thomas Grutter

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors employ an unbiased, affinity-guided reagent to label P2X7 receptor and use super-resolution imaging to monitor P2X7 redistribution in response to inflammatory signaling. The evidence is convincing and the study will be valuable to those studying the dynamics of receptor distribution and clustering.

Reviewed by eLife

Local Inhibitory Dynamics Underpin Temporal Integration and Functional Segregation between Barrels and Septa in the Mouse Barrel Cortex

1. Ali Özgür Argunşah
2. Tevye Jason Stachniak
3. Jenq-Wei Yang
4. Linbi Cai
5. Alexander van der Bourg
6. Rahel Kastli
7. Theofanis Karayannis

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Argunşah et al. investigate the mechanisms underlying the differential response dynamics of barrel vs septa domains in shaping the responses to single vs multiple whiskers. Based on the observation of a higher density of SST+ interneurons in the septa, the authors investigate the hypothesis that Elfn1-dependent short-term plasticity shapes these responses. This important study is, however, supported by incomplete evidence; factors restricting the strength of evidence are the limited spatial resolution of the multi-unit activity, as well as the lack of a mechanistic explanation. This provocative and intellectually stimulating hypothesis provides a contribution to work on how different cell types shape cortical representation.

Reviewed by eLife

Neural basis of cognitive control signals in anterior cingulate cortex during delay discounting

1. Jeremy K Seamans
2. Shelby White
3. Mitchell Morningstar
4. Eldon Emberly
5. David Linsenbardt
6. Baofeng Ma
7. Cristine L Czachowski
8. Christopher C Lapish

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors studied cognitive control signals in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) while rats selected between small immediate and larger delayed rewards. The description of behavioral strategies related to value-tracking signals in ACC is potentially useful. The evidence in support of this finding is incomplete due to issues with the task design, analyses, and modeling.

Reviewed by eLife

Characterisation of cold-selective lamina I spinal projection neurons

1. Aimi N Razlan
2. Wenhui Ma
3. Allen C Dickie
4. Erika Polgár
5. Anna McFarlane
6. Mansi Yadav
7. Andrew H Cooper
8. Douglas Strathdee
9. Masahiko Watanabe
10. Andrew M Bell
11. Andrew J Todd
12. Junichi Hachisuka

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study offers valuable insights into the anatomical and physiological features of cold-selective lamina I spinal projection neurons. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is compelling, although including a larger sample size and more quantification would have strengthened the study further, and the claims of monosynaptic connectivity would benefit from being stated more cautiously. The work will interest those in the field of somatosensory biology, especially researchers studying spinal cord dorsal horn circuits and projection neuron cell types.

Reviewed by eLife

Linear and categorical coding units in the mouse gustatory cortex drive population dynamics and behavior in taste decision-making

1. Liam Lang
2. Camelia Yuejiao Zheng
3. Jennifer M Blackwell
4. Giancarlo La Camera
5. Alfredo Fontanini

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work advances our understanding of the single neuron coding types in the mouse gustatory cortex and the functional roles of these neurons for perceptual decision-making. The conclusions are based on compelling evidence from rigorous behavioral experiments, high-density electrophysiology, sophisticated data analysis, and neural network modeling with in silico perturbations of functionally-identified units. This work will be of broad interest to systems neuroscientists.

Reviewed by eLife

Reactivation-coupled brain stimulation enables complete learning generalization

1. Yibo Xie
2. Minmin Wang
3. Yuan Gao
4. Baoyu Wu
5. Shaomin Zhang
6. Mengyuan Gong
7. Zoe Kourtzi
8. Ke Jia

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study shows that combining reactivation-based training with anodal tDCS yields an unusually broad generalization of visual perceptual learning, while preserving robust learning gains and markedly reducing total training time. Although the empirical evidence is solid, the proposed mechanistic account, i.e., the GABA modulation, disrupted offline consolidation and reduced perceptual overfitting, remains insufficiently substantiated, as these assumptions lack direct neurochemical support, and several alternative behavioral explanations and necessary control comparisons have not been fully addressed. The work will be of broad interest to researchers investigating brain plasticity, perceptual learning, and rehabilitation training.

Reviewed by eLife

Complimentary vertebrate Wac models exhibit phenotypes relevant to DeSanto-Shinawi Syndrome

1. Kang-Han Lee
2. April M Stafford
3. Maria Pacheco-Vergara
4. Karol Cichewicz
5. Cesar P Canales
6. Nicolas Seban
7. Melissa Corea
8. Darlene Rahbarian
9. Kelly E Bonekamp
10. Grant R Gillie
11. Dariangelly Pacheco Cruz
12. Alyssa M Gill
13. Hye-Eun Hwang
14. Katie L Uhl
15. Tara E Jager
16. Marwan Shinawi
17. Xiaopeng Li
18. Andre Obenaus
19. Shane Crandall
20. Juhee Jeong
21. Alex Nord
22. Cheol-Hee Kim
23. Daniel Vogt

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study establishes the first vertebrate models of DeSanto-Shinawi Syndrome, revealing conserved craniofacial and social and behavioral phenotypes across mouse and zebrafish that mirror key clinical features. The solid evidence is supported by behavioral, anatomical, and molecular analyses of Wac animal mutants that broadly support the authors' claims, though additional mechanistic investigation would strengthen the conclusions. This study sets a baseline for future mechanistic studies and reports a platform to test approaches to reverse phenotypes.

Reviewed by eLife