Neuroscience

eLife Assessment

The article presents important findings of a dissociation between phasic and tonic pain functions in adaptive behavior, combining immersive VR, computational modeling, skin conductance, and EEG data. The methodology used is convincing. Its ecological design and sophisticated computational modeling are major strengths.

eLife Assessment

The authors show that innate defensive behavior in mice is shaped by threat intensity, reward value, and social hierarchy, highlighting how value and social context influence instinctive decisions. The authors provide a valuable characterization of escape behavior which approximates naturalistic conditions. Despite minor methodological limitations, the work provides a solid foundation for future investigation of how reward and social context interact to influence behavior.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study draws on large-scale multimodal MRI measurements of human brain structure across the lifespan to offer a new perspective on visual cortex architecture. The data provide compelling evidence for two cortical architectural gradients that show distinct functional, cytoarchitectural, behavioural, and lifespan profiles. One gradient captures a broad early-to-higher-level visual cortical hierarchy in which cortical thickness tissue density covary; the other reflects more localised divergence from this relationship, notably predicting putative anterior temporal visual field representations that have not previously been described.

eLife Assessment

This important study investigates frequency-dependent effects of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) on bladder function in healthy humans and, through a computational model, shows that low-frequency stimulation accelerates, and high-frequency delays, the urge to void. The integration of experimental and modeling approaches provides a solid proof-of concept foundation for clinical trials targeting urinary retention. However, concerns were raised about over-interpretation of modest effects and the limited physiological validity of the computational model, and the need for replication in clinical populations. Some conclusions, particularly in the abstract, could be further tempered to better align with the strength of the available evidence.

eLife Assessment

This useful study examines excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance in the CA3-CA1 circuit of the hippocampus. Experimental and computational modeling results are presented. The computational modeling results were viewed as a novel advance supported by solid evidence, but incomplete evidence was provided to support the paper's main experimental claims due to deficiencies in the experimental methodology and concerns about the neurobiological relevance of the experimental observations.

eLife Assessment

This important study investigates how the brain categorizes written words from different writing systems (e.g., alphabetic vs. non-alphabetic). The evidence supporting the authors' claims is solid and sheds light on the neural basis of language's social‑categorization function.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study compares auditory cortex responses to sounds and cochlear implant stimulation measured with surface electrode grids in rats. Beyond the reduced frequency resolution of cochlear implants observed previously, this study suggests key discrepancies between neuronal representations of cochlear stimulations and natural sounds. The evidence for this result is solid but could be strengthened with a clarification of the methodology and an adaptation of the claim to the actual precision of the measurements. This study is of interest to researchers in the auditory neuroscience field and clinicians implementing treatments with cochlear implants.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study explores the role of Pink1 in regulating mitochondria-organelle contacts and glial function, advancing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases. The findings highlight key genes and cellular processes that are critical in maintaining neuronal health, with implications for glial biology and Parkinson's disease research. The methodology and data are solid. This work will be of significant interest to researchers in neuroscience, cell biology, and neurodegenerative diseases.

eLife Assessment

This important study provides new insights into the neuronal dynamics of the locus coeruleus in relation to hippocampal sharp-wave ripples. Using high-temporal-resolution, multi-site electrophysiological recordings in rats, the authors present convincing evidence that ripples and locus coeruleus activity are inversely correlated to levels of arousal and noradrenaline tone is modulated by hippocampo-cortical coupling. Overall, the work will be of interest to neuroscientists studying large-scale brain coordination and memory processes.

eLife Assessment

This important study uses a feedback-driven recurrent neural network framework to explore the dynamics underlying learning of BCI decoder perturbations. With convincing evidence, the authors demonstrate that behavioral learning trajectories that match those of primates learning within-manifold and outside-manifold perturbations are likely tied to the dynamical controllability of the network and input-driven learning. This work is likely to motivate a new generation of BCI and learning experiments combining large-scale neural recordings with latent dynamical systems analyses.