Neuroscience

A Context-Free Model of Savings in Motor Learning

1. Mahdiyar Shahbazi
2. Olivier Codol
3. Jonathan A Michaels
4. Paul L Gribble

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents valuable computational findings on the neural basis of learning new motor memories and the savings using recurrent neural networks. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, but it would benefit from more controls and from considering the role of explicit strategies and other brain regions. This work will be of interest to computational and experimental neuroscientists working in motor learning.

Reviewed by eLife

Integrative models of visually guided steering in Drosophila

1. Angel Canelo
2. Hyosun Kim
3. Yeon Kim
4. Jeongmin Park
5. Anmo J Kim

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study investigates the implementation of an efference copy mechanism in the visual flight control system of Drosophila, a topic of broad interest to sensorimotor neuroscientists. Although the behavioral data and computational analyses are each individually solid, there is limited quantitative evaluation of how the model predictions compare to the experimental data.

Reviewed by eLife

Cortical motor activity modulates respiration and reduces apnoea in neonates

1. Coen S Zandvoort
2. Fatima Usman
3. Shellie Robinson
4. Odunayo Fatunla
5. Eleri Adams
6. Kyle TS Pattinson
7. Simon F Farmer
8. Caroline Hartley

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Zandvoort and colleagues describe respiration-brain coupling in the context of apnoea in human newborns. The authors have addressed an important question and supported their claims with solid data. The rigor of the findings could perhaps be further strengthened with some relatively minor changes to the analysis methodology.

Reviewed by eLife

A behavioral architecture for realistic simulations of Drosophila larva locomotion and foraging

1. Panagiotis Sakagiannis
2. Anna-Maria Jürgensen
3. Martin Paul Nawrot

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study presents a hierarchical computational model that integrates locomotion, navigation, and learning in Drosophila larvae. The evidence supporting the model is solid, as it qualitatively replicates empirical behavioral data, but the experimental data is incomplete. While some simplifications in neuromechanical representation and sensory-motor integration are limiting factors, the study could be of use to researchers interested in computational modeling of biological movement and adaptive behavior.

Reviewed by eLife

Wide-ranging behavioral dysfunction in two mouse models of pathological human variants in the GRIK2 kainate receptor gene

1. Brynna T. Webb
2. Hieu Trinh
3. Emily A. Breach
4. Kendall M. Foote
5. Erica Binelli
6. Geoffrey T. Swanson

Reviewed by preLights

Segment-specific axon guidance by Wnt/Fz signaling diversifies motor commands in Drosophila larvae

1. Suguru Takagi
2. Shiina Takano
3. Tomohiro Kubo
4. Yusaku Hashimoto
5. Shu Morise
6. Xiangsunze Zeng
7. Akinao Nose

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The study by Takagi and colleagues is an important contribution to the question of how homologous neuronal circuits might be wired differently to elicit specific behaviours. The authors combine genetic, neuroanatomical, and behavioral data to provide convincing evidence that Dfz2/DWnt4 signaling controls the innervation pattern of wave command neurons in the fly larva, and thereby behavioral locomotion program selection.

Reviewed by eLife

Human single-neuron activity is modulated by intracranial theta burst stimulation of the basolateral amygdala

1. Justin M Campbell
2. Rhiannon L Cowan
3. Krista L Wahlstrom
4. Martina K Hollearn
5. Dylan Jensen
6. Tyler Davis
7. Shervin Rahimpour
8. Ben Shofty
9. Amir Arain
10. John D Rolston
11. Stephan Hamann
12. Shuo Wang
13. Lawrence N Eisenman
14. James Swift
15. Tao Xie
16. Peter Brunner
17. Joseph Manns
18. Cory Inman
19. Elliot H Smith
20. Jon Timothy Willie

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study provides a description of how single-neuron firing rates in the human medial temporal lobe and frontal cortex are modulated by theta-burst stimulation of the basolateral amydala. The results are supported by convincing evidence obtained from a rigorous task design and analysis of an incredibly rare dataset. The results may help guide future studies incorporating amygdala stimulation to improve patient health.

Reviewed by eLife

Endophilin A1 facilitates organization of the GABAergic postsynaptic machinery to maintain excitation-inhibition balance

1. Xue Chen
2. Deng Pan
3. Jia-Jia Liu
4. Yanrui Yang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable finding on the molecular mechanisms that govern GABAergic inhibitory synapse function. The authors propose that Endophilin A1 serves as a novel regulator of GABAergic synapses by acting as a component of the inhibitory postsynaptic density. The findings are convincing and likely to interest a broad audience of scientists focusing on inhibitory synaptic transmission, the excitation-inhibition balance, and its disruption in disorders such as epilepsy.

Reviewed by eLife

Scheduled feeding improves behavioral outcomes and reduces inflammation in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome

1. Huei-Bin Wang
2. Natalie E Smale
3. Sarah H Brown
4. Sophia AMB Villanueva
5. David Zhou
6. Aly Mulji
7. Deap S Bhandal
8. Kyle Nguyen-Ngo
9. John R Harvey
10. Cristina A Ghiani
11. Christopher S Colwell

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript presents solid experimental data using Fmr1 knockout mice to explore the fundamental role of Fmr1 in sleep regulation. The study supports the hypothesis that scheduled feeding can improve circadian rhythm and behavior in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome. These findings may offer new insights into neurodevelopmental disorders and their potential treatment strategies.

Reviewed by eLife

Preparatory attentional templates in prefrontal and sensory cortex encode target-associated information

1. Zhiheng Zhou
2. Joy Geng

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study decoded target-associated information in prefrontal and sensory cortex during the preparatory period of a visual search task, suggesting a memory component of human subjects performing such visual attention task. The evidence supporting this claim is compelling, based on multivariate pattern analyses of fMRI data. The results will be of interest to psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists.

Reviewed by eLife