Neuroscience

eLife assessment

This study presents solid evidence to support the effectiveness of the novel eIF2B activator DNL343 in mitigating the integrated stress response (ISR) and reducing neurodegeneration associated with ISR activation in two mouse models. These important findings offer promise for the potential use of DNL343 in treating vanishing white matter disease (VWMD), a rare condition resulting from eIF2B loss of function, and in addressing other neurodegenerative disorders characterized by ISR involvement. The study also identified potential VWMD biomarkers, which hold significance for assessing disease progression and evaluating treatment responses.

eLife assessment

This valuable study elucidates the essential role of the chromatin regulator KDM6B in the establishment and maintenance of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the mouse hippocampus. While the evidence supporting the authors' claims is largely solid, a more comprehensive investigation into the cellular and molecular events underlying the loss of hippocampal NSCs would have further strengthened the study. Nonetheless, the findings will be of interest to biologists studying neural development and NSCs.

eLife assessment

This important study investigates the influence of the cingulate cortex on the development of the social vocalizations of marmoset monkeys by making bilateral lesions of this brain area in neonatal animals. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is solid, although including longer-term effects and different social contexts would strengthen the manuscript. The work will be of broad interest to cognitive neuroscientists, speech and language researchers, and primate neuroscientists.

eLife Assessment

This study provides an important re-evaluation of modality-specific information processing in the thalamus of trained mice. Using an elegant task design that probes competing tactile and visual stimuli, the authors present compelling evidence that behavioral training reshapes the sensitivity of higher-order thalamic nuclei. Despite the powerful task design and the significance of the main findings, the origin of the cross-modal responses remains an open question and requires future investigation.

eLife assessment

This study presents convincing evidence of the role of an intestine-released neuropeptide, FLP-2, in the oxidative stress response of C. elegans, as well as for the neural circuit pathway that regulates its release in response to sensing reactive oxygen species (i.e., H2O2). These valuable results advance the understanding of gut-brain signaling and the neural circuit basis of behavioral responses to stress.

eLife assessment

This important study by Franziska Auer and colleagues examines cerebellar Purkinje cells' role in controlling posture in larval zebrafish using the innovative chemogenetic tool TRPV1/capsaicin. This work will interest neuroscientists studying motor control and cerebellar function. Overall, solid evidence is presented showing that disrupting Purkinje cell function impairs balance in the pitch axis and that this cell population encodes tilt direction. At the same time, some conclusions require more data or better statistical analysis.

eLife assessment

In this valuable study, Li et al., set out to understand the mechanisms of audiovisual temporal recalibration - the brain's ability to adjust to the latency differences that emerge due to different (distance-dependent) transduction latencies of auditory and visual signals - through psychophysical measurements and modelling. The analysis supports a role for causal inference in recalibration, though the evidence is incomplete.

eLife assessment

This valuable study provides evidence that during learning of a simple detection task, the change in the rate of spike bursts is a signal that is distinct from the change in firing rate, and suggests that the change in bursting is more correlated with learning than other measures of change in activity. However, the evidence for the claim that bursting contributes to learning and attention is currently incomplete, because the authors did not take into account the potentially differential effects of learning-related changes in movement on bursting compared to non-burst spike events, and there is no meaningful way to measure attention in their task. Also, the study used an artificial microstimulation as the stimulus, which limits the generalization of these results to normal sensory-motor learning.

eLife assessment

This important study advances our understanding of how FGF13 variants confer seizure susceptibility. By acting in a set of inhibitory interneurons, FGF13 regulates synaptic transmission and excitability. The data presented here are convincing and combine cell type-specific knockouts and electrophysiology, complemented by histology/RNA studies. Collectively, this research will be of interest to a wide audience, particularly those involved in the study of epilepsy, inhibitory neurons, and ion channels.

eLife assessment

This important study examines the relationship between expiratory airflow and vocal pitch in adult mice during the production of ultrasonic vocalizations and also identifies a molecularly defined population of brainstem neurons that regulates mouse vocal production across development. The evidence supporting the study's conclusions that expiratory airflow shapes vocal pitch and that these brainstem neurons preferentially regulate expiratory airflow is novel and compelling. This work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on mechanisms and brainstem circuits that regulate vocal production and vocal-respiratory coordination.