Neuroscience

Evaluation Summary:

Overall, these authors show that BDNF at the axon terminal can be retrogradely transported to promote new protein synthesis in the neuronal cell body and regulate dendritic morphology, which requires activated TrkB, Akt and mTOR in the soma and nuclear phospho-CREB. Although target-derived neurotrophin effects are well-established in the peripheral nervous system, this mechanism of signaling is less well-understood in the CNS. The manuscript presents a comprehensive analysis of the retrograde transport of BDNF/TrkB from the axon terminal to regulate dendritic morphology.

(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 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Evaluation Summary:

Genetic forms of deafness are a major health challenge. This study deciphers the cochlear roles of Repressor element 1-silencing transcription factor (REST), a gene involved in the DFNA27 dominant form of deafness, using the mouse as a model system. This study provides evidence for a pathophysiological mechanism of deafness and shows how genes involved in different forms of deafness may interact together. The manuscript will be interesting to readers who work in the field of hearing research, REST regulation, or Kv7.4 regulation.

(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 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Evaluation Summary:

This manuscript is of interest to neuroscientists willing to deepen their knowledge related to the role of the insula and to any scientist interested in oscillatory activities. The substantial dataset and the novel methodological approach provide interesting insights on the functional organization of this brain region.

(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.)

Evaluation Summary:

When the subjects are instructed to produce saccades away from suddenly appearing visual targets under time pressure, early saccades tend to be directed incorrectly to the peripheral target, suggesting that exogenous and endogenous signals that are related to the target position and instruction, respectively, compete to control the motor responses. In this study, the authors provide further evidence for the independence of these two processes by showing that they can account for temporal evolution of correct saccades regardless of the instruction, stimulus luminance or motor bias.

(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.)

Evaluation Summary:

This paper tests the hypothesis that subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is linked to hyperreactivity to uncertainty. Using an information-gathering task, the authors demonstrate that individuals with subjective cognitive impairment sample more than controls under uncertainty. Despite the clear strengths of the experimental design and the novel insights into SCI, some of the findings rely on problematic between-subject correlation analyses that should be corrected. Furthermore, alternative accounts of the main findings are consistent with the 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 #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Evaluation Summary:

This paper employs innovative approaches to elegantly tackle the question of how we are able to learn an object category with just a single example, and what features we use to distinguish that category. Through a collection of rigorous experiments and analytical methods, the paper demonstrates people's impressive abilities at rapid category learning and highlights the important role of distinctive features for determining category membership. This paper and its approach will be of interest to those who study learning, memory, and perception, while also contributing to a growing field which uses naturalistic drawing as a window into high-level cognition.

(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.)

Evaluation Summary:

The authors report a preregistered study which tests the effects of targeted memory reactivation (TMR), which is typically studied in the context of declarative memory, on motor memory consolidation during sleep. In a nap study, the authors use a standard TMR paradigm. Their results suggest a key role of oscillatory activity for motor memory consolidation, where distinct features of the slow oscillation spindle interaction mediate memory formation. Overall, this is a timely interesting. It is scientifically rigorous and transparently reported. The claims are well supported by the 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 #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Evaluation Summary:

In this manuscript, the authors discovered a new function of Rai14, an F-actin binding protein, in dendritic spine dynamics. They showed that Rai14 is localized at the spine neck and regulate spine density and function. Heterozygous Rai14 knockout mice showed impaired learning and memory and depressive-like behavior. Overall, this study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying spine dynamics and depressive-like behavior. The main conclusions are supported by the 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.)

Evaluation Summary:

This paper will be of interest to researchers studying how spoken language is processed in the brain. The results add to our understanding of how brain oscillations track language information at the syllable, word, and sentence level. The analyses are thoughtful and the key claims of the manuscript are largely supported by the data, although some conclusions may require additional support.

(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.)

Evaluation Summary:

The paper is of interest to scientists who study neuroanatomy or the many behavioural phenotypes that have been proposed to be associated with left-right asymmetry of the human brain. The authors' new tool appears to provide clues to identify individuals based on shape asymmetry.

(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.)