Neuroscience

Computational mechanisms for temporal integration in the anterior claustrum

1. Kuenbae Sohn
2. Donghyeon Yoon
3. Junghwa Lee
4. Sukwoo Choi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This work provides an important modeling-based framework for understanding the processes of temporal integration in the claustrum. These mechanisms could support a broader range of integrative brain function. However, at present, the evidence remains at least in part incomplete, primarily because of over-interpretation of the results and their connection to neurophysiology.

Reviewed by eLife

Prior cocaine use disrupts identification of hidden states by single units and neural ensembles in orbitofrontal cortex

1. Wenhui Zong
2. Lauren E Mueller
3. Zhewei Zhang
4. Jingfeng Zhou
5. Geoffrey Schoenbaum

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental work shows that a history of cocaine self-administration disrupts the orbitofrontal cortex's ability to encode similarities between distinct sensory stimuli that possess identical task information - hidden states. The evidence supporting these conclusions is compelling, with methods and analyses spanning self-administration, a novel 'figure 8' sequential odor task, recordings from 3,881 single units, and sophisticated firing analyses revealing complex orbitofrontal representations of task structure. These results will be of broad interest to psychologists, neuroscientists, and clinicians.

Reviewed by eLife

Designing optimal perturbation inputs for system identification in neuroscience

1. Mikito Ogino
2. Daiki Sekizawa
3. Jun Kitazono
4. Masafumi Oizumi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors establish solid theoretical principles for designing brain perturbations under the assumption that brain activity evolves under a linear model. By prioritizing low-variance components, resonant frequencies, and hub nodes, this framework provides an important foundation for optimizing information gain, neural state classification, and the control of neural dynamics. However, the lack of investigation of model mismatch makes the study incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Chemogenetic Manipulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus-Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata Pathway Promotes Recovery in HemiParkinsonian Rat Models

1. Nassim Stegamat
2. Rupert Smit
3. Jacquelynn Rajavong
4. Thomas Campion
5. Sraavya Pinjala
6. George Smith

Reviewed by PREreview

Drift in Individual Behavioral Phenotype as a Strategy for Unpredictable Worlds

1. Ryan Maloney
2. Athena Ye
3. Sam-Keny Saint-Pre
4. Tom Alisch
5. David Zimmerman
6. Nicole Pittoors
7. Benjamin L de Bivort

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Maloney et al. offer an important contribution to understanding the potential ecological mechanisms behind individual behavioral variation. By providing compelling theoretical and experimental data, the study bridges the gap between individual, apparently stochastic behavior with its evolutionary purpose and consequences. The work further provides a testable and generalizable model framework to explore behavioral drift in other behaviors.

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Anesthesia Lowers Spatial Frequency Preference in the Primary Visual Cortex

1. Jiahao Wu
2. Taisuke Yoneda
3. Kallum Robinson
4. Naotsugu Tsuchiya
5. Yumiko Yoshimura

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This paper describes useful findings on the effects of isoflurane anesthesia on the visual cortical circuitry of the mouse. It provides solid evidence that the visual spatial frequency sensitivity becomes coarser (lower resolution) during anesthesia, with distinct effects described in excitatory neurons, and parvalbumin (PV) and somatostatin (SOM) positive interneurons. This study should be of interest to neuroscientists studying the mouse visual cortex and the effects of anesthesia on cortical circuitry.

Reviewed by eLife

Pupil size reveals the perceptual quality and effortless nature of synesthesia

1. Christoph Strauch
2. Casper Leenaars
3. Romke Rouw

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study used pupillometry to provide an objective assessment of a form of synesthesia in which people see additional color when reading numbers. It provides convincing evidence that subjective color ratings are matched by changes in pupil size that recapitulate brightness-mediated changes when exposed to the real color. The work provides a valuable contribution to the literature on both synesthetic perception and the use of pupillometry to probe perception and related psychological processes.

Reviewed by eLife

Formation of Task Representations and Replay in Mouse Medial Prefrontal Cortex

1. Hamed Shabani
2. Hannah Muysers
3. Yuk-Hoi Yiu
4. Jonas-Frederic Sauer
5. Marlene Bartos
6. Christian Leibold

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study characterizes the evolution of medial prefrontal cortex activity during the learning of an odor-based choice task. The evidence provided is solid, providing quantification of functional classes of cells over the course of learning using the longitudinal calcium recordings in prefrontal cortex, and quantification of prefrontal sequences. However, the experimental design appears to provide limited evidence to support strong conclusions regarding the functional relevance of neural sequences. The study will be of interest to neuroscientists investigating learning and decision-making processes.

Reviewed by eLife

Multiple Functions of Cerebello-Thalamic Neurons in Learning and Offline Consolidation of a Motor Skill in mice

1. Andres P Varani
2. Caroline Mailhes-Hamon
3. Romain W Sala
4. Marie Sarraudy
5. Sarah Fouda
6. Jimena L Frontera
7. Clément Léna
8. Daniela Popa

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Varani et al present important findings regarding the role of distinct cerebellothalamic connections in motor learning and performance. The evidence supporting the main claims is convincing, with multiple replications, validation of their techniques, and appropriate controls. The work will be of broad interest to neuroscientists interested in central mechanisms of motor learning and control, as well as thalamic physiology.

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Hugin-AstA circuitry is a novel central energy sensor that directly regulates sweet sensation in Drosophila and mouse

1. Wusa Qin
2. Tingting Song
3. Zeliang Lai
4. Daihan Li
5. Liming Wang
6. Rui Huang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work by Qin et al. delineates layered neuropeptidergic mechanisms that regulate sugar intake in a hunger state-dependent manner. Using a combination of genetic, physiological, and behavioral experiments, the authors convincingly show that Hugin- and Allatostatin A-releasing neurons are selectively active in sated flies and suppress sugar feeding by reducing the sensitivity of Gr5a-expressing gustatory neurons. They further demonstrate that Neuromedin U neurons share key physiological properties with fly Hugin neurons, highlighting conserved peptide functions across animal phyla.

Reviewed by eLife