Neuroscience

eLife Assessment

This work defines the response dynamics in forepaw-related cortical circuits of S1 and M1 following stimulation of peripheral mechanoreceptors in the mouse. In this revised version, the authors have addressed the reviewers' prior concerns. The results are convincing and present a valuable comparison to previously published work. This study has implications for understanding the interactions between primary somatosensory and motor cortex, required for active sensing, and will be of interest to scientists seeking to better understand the functions of somatosensory and motor circuits.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study provides insights into a key question in comparative neuroanatomy and development. The authors provide evidence of the role for a particular micro-RNA in regulating the development of key transcription factors that control forebrain development. The study rests on clear but incomplete results.

eLife Assessment

This important resource paper presents a library of cell-type-specific genetic driver lines that label wing-related motor and premotor neurons in the ventral nerve cord of the fruit fly, Drosophila. The toolkit is systematically validated with compelling anatomical and behavioral evidence and will provide a resource for future studies of Drosophila flight and courtship.

eLife Assessment

This important work investigates how orientation signals detected in higher brain areas may be transformed into motor responses in behaving animals. The authors characterize two types of descending neurons (DNs) that connect the brain to motor units and are involved in different aspects of turning control. They further show that orientation signals act by preferentially increasing relative stimulation onto left- or right-turn-inducing DNs. These compelling results, together with the independent work that they have inspired, represent significant progress in our understanding of mechanisms of animal navigation.

eLife Assessment

This study investigates the neural basis of causal inference of illness, suggesting that it relies on semantic networks specific to living things in the absence of a generalized representation of causal inference across domains. The main hypothesis is compelling, and is supported by solid methods and data analysis. Overall, the findings make a valuable contribution to understanding the role of domain-specific semantic networks, particularly the precuneus, in implicit causal inference about illness.

eLife Assessment

This important and well-executed study describes how deleting the autism spectrum disorder risk gene CNTNAP2 in mice increases dorsolateral striatal projection neuron excitability and promotes repetitive behaviors and cognitive inflexibility. The evidence supporting this claim is convincing. The study provides a potential cellular explanation for the repetitive and inflexible behavior in Cntnap2 knockout mice and CNTNAP2 disorder in humans, which would interest both basic and translational neuroscientists.

eLife Assessment

This important study identified a molecular mechanism linking diabetes to AD risk and the data presented are convincing. The authors investigated the role of kallistatin in metabolic abnormalities associated with AD and identified that Kallistatin is a key player that mediates Aβ accumulation and tau hyperphosphorylation in AD. This manuscript provides novel insights into the pathogenesis of AD, indicating that the hypolipidemic drug fenofibrate attenuates AD-like pathology in Kallistatin transgenic mice.

eLife Assessment

This important study uses C. elegans to provide new insights into the role of the conserved protein FLWR-1/Flower in synaptic transmission. Employing a variety of techniques, including calcium imaging, ultrastructural analysis, and electrophysiology, the paper provides convincing evidence that challenges some previous thinking about FLWR-1 function. This work will be of particular interest to neuroscientists studying synaptic physiology and plasticity.

eLife Assessment

This is an important study utilizing innovative CRISPR based approaches demonstrating the role of the KLF family of transcription factors in the post natal maturation of cortical projection neurons. The strength of evidence overall is compelling, and the study is well executed. The screen data presented provides a number of interesting candidates for future analyses into the mechanism of action of KLF family members in neuronal maturation.

eLife Assessment

The authors test the hypothesis that gonadal steroid signaling influences the transcriptional development of specific neurons in the mPOA during adolescence, and that such adolescent development of the mPOA is necessary for mating behaviors. The findings are valuable and supported by convincing data. This work contributes new insight into hormone-sensitive transcriptional profiles within genetically defined neuron clusters in the mPOA during adolescence and will be of interest to systems and molecular neuroscientists and those interested in development, sex differences, and/or hormonal regulation.