Neuroscience

The promise and peril of comparing fluorescence lifetime in biology revealed by simulations

1. Pingchuan Ma
2. Peter Chen
3. Scott Sternson
4. Yao Chen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents an important computational framework, FLiSimBA (Fluorescence Lifetime Simulation for Biological Applications), for modeling experimental limitations in Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM). FLiSimBA is readily available in MATLAB and Python, enables users to simulate effects of noise and varying sensor expression levels, and provides practical guidance for both lifetime imaging experiments and biosensor development. The analyses are robust, and the evidence supporting the tool's utility in distinguishing between multiple lifetime signals is compelling, indicating strong potential for multiplexed dynamic imaging. However, users should also consider that the tool's effectiveness depends on the suitability of a two-component discrete exponential model.

Reviewed by eLife

Activity in serotonergic axons in visuomotor areas of cortex is modulated by the recent history of visuomotor coupling

1. Baba Yogesh
2. Georg B Keller

Reviewed by Peer Community in Neuroscience

Premature vision drives aberrant development of response properties in primary visual cortex

1. Sophie V Griswold
2. Stephen D Van Hooser

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This carefully conducted study aims to understand how the early visual experience of premature infants induces lasting deficits, including compromised motion processing. The authors address this important question in a ferret animal model, exposing the developing visual system prematurely to patterned visual input by opening one or both eyes at a time when both retinal waves and light traveling through closed lids can drive sensory responses. Convincing evidence is presented, suggesting that eye opening at this time impacts temporal frequency tuning and elevates spontaneous firing rates. These findings will have great relevance for neuroscientists studying visual system development, particularly in the context of premature birth.

Reviewed by eLife

Online reinforcement learning of state representation in recurrent network supported by the power of random feedback and biological constraints

1. Takayuki Tsurumi
2. Ayaka Kato
3. Arvind Kumar
4. Kenji Morita

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this important study, the authors model reinforcement-learning experiments using a recurrent neural network. The work examines if the detailed credit assignment necessary for back-propagation through time can be replaced with random feedback. The authors provide solid evidence that the solution is adequate within relatively simple tasks.

Reviewed by eLife

The ciliary kinesin KIF7 controls the development of the cerebral cortex by acting differentially on SHH signaling in dorsal and ventral forebrain

1. María Pedraza
2. Valentina Grampa
3. Sophie Scotto-Lomassese
4. Julien Puech
5. Aude Muzerelle
6. Azka Mohammad
7. Sophie Lebon
8. Nicolas Renier
9. Christine Metin
10. Justine Masson

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study provides convincing evidence that the Kinesin protein family member KIF7 regulates the development of the cerebral cortex and its connectivity and the specificity of Sonic Hedgehog signaling by controlling the details of Gli repressor vs activator functions. This study provides new insights into general aspects of cortical development.

Reviewed by eLife

Accept–reject decision-making revealed via a quantitative and ethological study of C. elegans foraging

1. Jessica A Haley
2. Tianyi Chen
3. Mikio Aoi
4. Sreekanth H Chalasani

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Understanding how neural circuits mediate decision-making is a core problem in neuroscience. In this interesting and important work, the authors use detailed behavioral analysis and rigorous quantitative modeling to convincingly support the idea that the nematode C. elegans uses an "accept-reject" behavioral strategy, based on learned features of its environment, to make decisions upon encountering food patches. The work expands our understanding of the behavioral repertoire of this species, providing a foundation for future mechanistic studies in this powerful model system.

Reviewed by eLife

Dissociable dynamic effects of expectation during statistical learning

1. Hannah H McDermott
2. Federico De Martino
3. Caspar M Schwiedrzik
4. Ryszard Auksztulewicz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study is of relevance for the fields of predictive processing, perception and learning, with a well-designed paradigm allowing the authors to avoid several common confounds in investigating predictions, such as adaptation. Using a state-of-the-art multivariate EEG approach, the authors test the opposing process theory and find evidence in support of it - i.e., the persuasive within trial effects. However, the interactions across block are not well motivated and much less persuasive, such that the support for the conclusions is only incomplete at present.

Reviewed by eLife

Automatic and accurate reconstruction of long-range axonal projections of single-neuron in mouse brain

1. Lin Cai
2. Taiyu Fan
3. Xuzhong Qu
4. Ying Zhang
5. Xianyu Gou
6. Quanwei Ding
7. Weihua Feng
8. Tingting Cao
9. Xiaohua Lv
10. Xiuli Liu
11. Qing Huang
12. Tingwei Quan
13. Shaoqun Zeng

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important paper takes a novel approach to the problem of automatically reconstructing long-range axonal projections from stacks of images. The key innovation is to separate the identification of sections of an axon from the statistical rules used to constrain global structure. The authors provide compelling evidence that their method is a significant improvement over existing measures in circumstances where the labelling of axons and dendrites is relatively dense.

Reviewed by eLife

Distinct Roles of Somatostatin and Parvalbumin Interneurons in Regulating Predictive Actions and Emotional Responses During Trace Eyeblink Conditioning

1. Jiaman Dai
2. Qian-Quan Sun

Reviewed by PREreview

Transforming descending input into motor output: An analysis of the Drosophila Male Adult Nerve Cord connectome

1. Han SJ Cheong
2. Katharina Eichler
3. Tomke Stürner
4. Samuel K Asinof
5. Andrew S Champion
6. Elizabeth C Marin
7. Tess B Oram
8. Marissa Sumathipala
9. Lalanti Venkatasubramanian
10. Shigehiro Namiki
11. Igor Siwanowicz
12. Marta Costa
13. Stuart Berg
14. Janelia FlyEM Project Team
15. Gregory SXE Jefferis
16. Gwyneth M Card

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This paper describes the structure and connectivity of brain neurons that send descending connections to motor neurons and muscle in the fruit fly nerve cord, using a synapse-resolution connectome. This important work provides a wealth of hypotheses and predictions for future experimentation and modelling. Using state-of-the-art methods, the authors provide solid evidence for their conclusions.

Reviewed by eLife