Neuroscience

Cerebellar Purkinje cell stripe patterns reveal a differential vulnerability and resistance to cell loss during normal aging in mice

1. Sarah G Donofrio
2. Cheryl Brandenburg
3. Amanda M Brown
4. Tao Lin
5. Hsiang-Chih Lu
6. Roy V Sillitoe

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study presents findings on the patterned loss of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum during aging. The compelling data nicely support the conclusions of this study. This work advances understanding of mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration with aging and provides the basis for development of treatments for age-related neurological disorders.

Reviewed by eLife

Neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex are involved in spatial tuning and signaling upcoming choice independently from hippocampal sharp-wave ripples

1. Hanna den Bakker
2. Fabian Kloosterman

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study reports analyses of Neuropixel recordings in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of rats in a spatial navigation trial, focusing on classifying prefrontal neurons based on SWR modulation and anatomical location. Reviewers were unconvinced by the presented evidence for the claim that distinct populations of mPFC neurons participate in non-local ensemble representations during SWR and non-SWR periods, and were unconvinced by the presented evidence for a previously unrecognized anatomical distinction between these populations. Further analyses might strengthen the incomplete evidence for some conclusions, and some of the strong claims of the paper should likely be moderated.

Reviewed by eLife

Responses to conflicting binocular stimuli in mouse primary visual cortex

1. Daniel P. Montgomery
2. Daniel A. Bowen
3. Jin Wu
4. Mark F. Bear
5. Eric D. Gaier

Reviewed by preLights

Peripheral glia and neurons jointly regulate activity-induced synaptic remodeling at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction

1. Yen-Ching Chang
2. Yi-Jheng Peng
3. Joo Yeun Lee
4. Annie Wen
5. Karen T Chang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable finding on a new role of glia in activity-dependent synaptic remodeling using the Drosophila NMJ as a model system. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is convincing. The authors have addressed most of the reviewers' concerns and help to further clarify the claims. The work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on glia-neuron interaction and synaptic remodeling.

Reviewed by eLife

Region-specific mechanosensation controls Drosophila postural control behaviour

1. William Roseby
2. Jonathan AC Menzies
3. Victoria A Lipscomb
4. Claudio R Alonso

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study by Roseby and colleagues shows that region-specific mechanosensation - especially anterior-dorsal inputs - controls larval self-righting, and links this to Hox gene function in sensory neurons. The work is important for understanding how body plan cues shape sensorimotor behaviour, and the experimental toolkit will be of use to others. The strength of evidence is solid with respect to the assays developed and the involvement of the anterior region; it is incomplete with respect to dorso-ventral involvement in that region and the role of Hox genes in the process. These findings will be of broad interest to researchers studying neural circuits, developmental genetics, and the evolution of behaviour.

Reviewed by eLife

A stochastic RNA editing process targets a select number of sites in individual Drosophila glutamatergic motoneurons

1. Andrés B Crane
2. Michiko O Inouye
3. Suresh K Jetti
4. J Troy Littleton

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study uses single-neuron Patch-seq RNA sequencing to investigate the process by which RNA editing can produce protein diversity and regulate function in various cellular contexts. The computational analyses of the data collected are convincing, and from an analytical standpoint, this paper is a notable advance in seeking to provide a biological context for massive amounts of data in the field. The study would be of interest to biologists looking at the effects of RNA editing in the diversification of cellular behaviour.

Reviewed by eLife

A Toolkit for In Vivo Mapping and Modulating Neurotransmission at Single-Cell Resolution

1. Andrea Cuentas-Condori
2. Patricia Chanabá-López
3. Matthew Thomas
4. Likui Feng
5. Aaron Wolfe
6. Peter Agoba
7. Matthew L Schwartz
8. Maximillian Brown
9. Margaret Ebert
10. Erik Jorgensen
11. Cornelia I Bargmann
12. Daniel Colón-Ramos

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents an important toolkit for visualising the endogenous expression of four classes of neurotransmitter vesicular transporters. Using their toolkit, the authors find that there is co-transmission of neurotransmitters in over 10% of neurons tested. Although the evidence presented in the manuscript is solid, one weakness of this study is the failure of the authors to compare and contrast their results with available single-cell sequencing datasets and with well-established synaptic reporter lines (i.e., co-localization experiments). This toolkit will be of great use to multiple labs, and the authors should indicate their plan to disseminate the reagents and the associated information that is part of this kit.

Reviewed by eLife