Neuroscience

eLife assessment

The authors provide a new method to target mouse CSF-cNs via intracerebroventricular injection of adeno-associated virus (AAV) with a neuron-specific promoter, which enabled them to introduce any genes into CSF-cNs. By doing so, they established the structure, connectivity, and function of mouse CSF-cNs in locomotion, recapitulating the findings obtained in zebrafish and lamprey, and extending the recent observations in mice. This study is very conclusive and important for the sensorimotor field.

eLife assessment

This paper is of potential interest to any neuroscientist, given it asks how the brain compensates for its own neural transmission delays. This is a problem that runs across neuroscientific disciplines. The authors use a clever and simple design where they study this question in the context of decoding from EEG signals during visual motion processing. They robustly show evidence that the brain can indeed compensate for these delays, although all compensation appears to be afforded by early processing. The manuscript is well-written but can be strengthened by outlining its significance for the broader community as well as some further analyses.

eLife assessment

Harkin and colleagues explore functional properties of dorsal raphe serotonin neurons using the approach called a generalized integrate-and-fire [aGIF] model, which incorporates a relatively small number of salient biophysical properties of a specific neuron type, and whose parameters are optimized based on voltage dynamics obtained experimentally. The authors make an interesting finding that after-hyperpolarization and A-type potassium currents, in combination with heterogeneous feedforward inhibition from local GABA neurons, give rise to a derivative-like input-output relationship in serotonin neurons.

eLife Assessment:

This manuscript uses a genetically-encoded calcium indicator to assess neural activity across a population of axons connecting the fly's brain to its ventral nerve cord while the tethered fly behaves on a floating ball. Changes in fluorescence signal correlate better with states such as walking, resting, and grooming than with particular limb movements or joint angles, suggesting that specific descending neurons represent the larger behavioral subdivisions. The preparation and large-scale analysis represent a significant step forward in determining how the brain compresses sensory and state information to convey commands to the ventral nervous system for behavior execution by motor circuits.

(This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

eLife Assessment

This report describes evidence that the main driving force for stimulation of glycolysis in dentate granule cell neurons in acute hippocampal slices from mouse by electrical activity comes from influx of Na+ including Na+ exchanging into the cell for Ca2+. The findings are presented very clearly and the authors' interpretations seem reasonable. This is important and impactful because it identifies the major energy demand in excited neurons that stimulates glycolysis to supply more ATP.

eLife Assessment:

This paper should be of high interest to scientists within the field of developmental neuroscience. The authors characterize the earliest spontaneous waves of the retina - a topic that is poorly understood. The ability to monitor waves over the entire retina at high resolution is a strength of the work. Weaknesses include reliance on pharmacology and some missing details in the analysis.

(This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

eLife Assessment:

This is a rigorous evaluation of whether the compression of time cells in the hippocampus follows the Weber-Fechner Law, using a hierarchical Bayesian model that simultaneously accounts for the firing pattern at the trial, cell, and population levels. The two key results are that the time field width increases linearly with delay, even after taking into account the across trial response variability, and that the time cell population is distributed evenly on a logarithmic time scale. Overall, the paper is well written, the experiment and data analysis are technically sound, and the conclusions are mostly well supported.

(This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

eLife Assessment:

This paper presents a new mathematical model describing biologically plausible feedback that glial cells might use to properly modify the conduction velocity in axons and promote optimal timing of neural impulses through changes in myelination. This problem is of great importance in the field of neuronal plasticity. The mathematical model is solid and predicts that individual oligodendrocytes are able to modify their myelination pattern in response to correlated action potentials. This work provides an important step forward by providing the theory for myelin-mediated neuronal plasticity. The study will benefit from adapting physiological parameters for oligodendrocytes that are guided by experimental data.

(This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

eLife Assessment:

This study presents a large sample of participants ranging from 6-18 years investigating the association between white matter measures and reading using a sophisticated analysis. The results show a clear association between intra-axonal volume and single-word reading abilities. In sum, this valuable study complements other large-scale studies by applying sophisticated fixel-based analyses.

(This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

eLife Assessment:

This paper by Möller and colleagues investigates and compares spontaneous turn-taking behavior by pairs of macaque monkeys and human participants in a social coordination game. The study uses a novel format for interaction - the "transparent game" in which subjects play together on a clear glass screen, so that decisions take on properties of continuousness. The results suggest differences between species in their tendencies toward cooperative, mutually beneficial behaviors, with humans exhibiting more prosocial tendencies. Interestingly, training with humans could encourage the monkeys to become less selfish and adopt a turn-taking strategy. The behavior analyses are rigorous and convincingly support the conclusions, and the study is likely to be of interest to researchers in the field of social neuroscience and decision-making, as well as to a more general audience who studies cognition, psychology, economics, especially game theory, and animal behavior.

(This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)