Neuroscience

eLife Assessment

The authors present useful findings on the use of a single-fly behavioral paradigm for assessing different Drosophila genetic models of neurodegeneration. The experimental design and analyses are solid and can be used for quick behavioral assessment in fly models of various neurodegenerative diseases, especially those having an impact on locomotion. The work will be of interest to Drosophila biologists using behavior as a readout for their studies.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript makes important contributions to the methodology commonly used to assess representational structures in human and animal brain activity recorded using various techniques (especially fMRI). The evidence in the form of mathematical analysis and simulations is solid. The impact of this contribution could be improved by extending the simulations to assess the effects of violations of explicit and implicit assumptions.

eLife Assessment

This is an important study that combines replications of findings and novel detailed MRI investigations to assess the impact of environmental enrichment and maternal behavior on mice brain structure at different stages of development. The results and evidence supporting the conclusions are convincing, but in detail, the interpretation is challenging, in particular due to inter-individual and inter-litter variability. The extent to which maternal care mediates the impact of enrichment on brain development during the perinatal period also remains unclear because behavior was observed only during short periods, and the performed analyses are still incomplete. This study will nevertheless be of significant interest to neuroscientists and researchers interested in neurodevelopment in relation to environmental factors because of its in-depth use of MRI to study brain plasticity in mice.

eLife Assessment

The authors provide a convincing summary of ten years of Brain Initiative funding including the historical development, the specific funding mechanisms, and examples of grants funded and work produced. It is particularly valuable at this moment in history, given the cataclysmic changes in the US government structure and function occurring in early 2025.

eLife Assessment

Based on several lines of interesting data, the authors conclude that FMRP, though associated with stalled ribosomes, does not determine the position on the mRNAs at which ribosomes stall. Although this conclusion would be valuable if clearly established, the current set of data are incomplete and it is unclear if the methodologies applied in this paper are fully adequate to address this gap.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study investigates the selectivity of neuronal responses in the neocortex and thalamus to visual stimuli presented far outside their receptive fields. The study shows convincing evidence for a long-latency surround-induced response in primary visual cortex that is absent in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and does not depend strongly on the visual characteristics of the surround stimulus. The paper should be of interest to neurophysiologists interested in vision and contextual modulations.

eLife Assessment

This is an overall valuable set of findings on the role of centrally produced estrogens in the control of behaviors in male and female medaka. The significance of the findings rests on the revealed potential mechanism between brain derived estrogens modulating social behaviors in males as well as females. The results are supported by the analysis of multiple transgenic lines although the evidence is incomplete, and further validation would be necessary to fully validate the conclusions on the role of brain-derived estrogens. Nonetheless, the findings have led to helpful hypotheses on the hormonal control of behaviors in teleosts that can be tested further.

eLife Assessment

This study aims to clarify the effects of cochlear neural degeneration on auditory processing in listeners with normal audiograms (sometimes referred to as 'hidden hearing loss'). The authors provide important new data demonstrating associations between cochlear neural degeneration, non-invasive assays of auditory processing, and speech perception. Based on a cross-species comparison, the findings pose compelling evidence that cochlear synaptopathy is associated with a significant part of hearing difficulties in complex environments.

eLife Assessment

This study provides valuable findings on the effects of mating experience on sweet taste perception. The data as presented provide convincing evidence that the dopaminergic signaling-mediated reward system underlies this mating state-dependent behavioral modulation. The work will interest neuroscientists and particularly biologists working on neuromodulation and the effects of internal states on sensory perception.