Neuroscience

POMC neurons control fertility through differential signaling of MC4R in kisspeptin neurons

1. Rajae Talbi
2. Todd L Stincic
3. Kaitlin Ferrari
4. Choi Ji Hae
5. Karol Walec
6. Elizabeth Medve
7. Achi Gerutshang
8. Silvia Leon
9. Elizabeth A McCarthy
10. Oline K Rønnekleiv
11. Martin J Kelly
12. Victor M Navarro

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The study presents compelling evidence that the melanocortin system originating in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus plays a crucial role in puberty onset, representing a significant advance in our understanding of reproductive biology. The research employs innovative approaches and benefits from the combined expertise of two respected laboratories, enhancing the robustness of the findings. Given the potential impact on human health and the strength of the evidence presented, this fundamental work will likely influence the field substantially and may inform future clinical applications.

Reviewed by eLife

Unravelling the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying counterconditioning in humans

1. Lisa Wirz
2. Maxime C Houtekamer
3. Jette de Vos
4. Joseph E Dunsmoor
5. Judith R Homberg
6. Marloes JAG Henckens
7. Erno J Hermans

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work combines self-report, neural and physiology data to examine the efficacy and mechanisms of counter conditioning versus extinction in reducing re-emergence of conditioned threat responses and show that this appears to rely on the nucleus accumbens rather than the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These findings are supported by convincing evidence, though some areas could benefit from a few targeted refinements. The findings will be of interest to researchers across multiple subfields, including neuroscientists, cognitive theory researchers, and clinicians, particularly those with an interest in clinical applications in trauma therapies.

Reviewed by eLife

Mapping vascular network architecture in primate brain using ferumoxytol-weighted laminar MRI

1. Joonas A Autio
2. Ikko Kimura
3. Takayuki Ose
4. Yuki Matsumoto
5. Masahiro Ohno
6. Yuta Urushibata
7. Takuro Ikeda
8. Matthew F Glasser
9. David C van Essen
10. Takuya Hayashi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents valuable findings on the relative cerebral blood volume of non-human primates that move us closer to uncovering the functional and architectonic principles that govern the interplay between neuronal and vascular networks. The evidence of areal variations and of vessel counting and laminar analysis is solid. The lack of a direct comparison of their approach against better-established MRI-based methods for measuring hemodynamics and vascular structure somewhat weakens the evidence provided in the current paper version, but the current work is an significant step forward. The work will be of interest to NHP imaging scientists.

Reviewed by eLife

Heterozygosity for neurodevelopmental disorder-associated TRIO variants yields distinct deficits in behavior, neuronal development, and synaptic transmission in mice

1. Yevheniia Ishchenko
2. Amanda T Jeng
3. Shufang Feng
4. Timothy Nottoli
5. Cindy Manriquez-Rodriguez
6. Khanh K Nguyen
7. Melissa G Carrizales
8. Matthew J Vitarelli
9. Ellen E Corcoran
10. Charles A Greer
11. Samuel A Myers
12. Anthony J Koleske

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study explores how heterozygosity for specific neurodevelopmental disorder-associated TRIO variants affects brain function in mice. The authors conducted thorough analyses on mouse lines harboring TRIO-variants associated with autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, and the results provide compelling evidence demonstrating unique alterations of each variant in synaptic functions and behavior. These findings highlight a fundamental aspect of TRIO variants contributing to brain functions and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Reviewed by eLife

Heritability of movie-evoked brain activity and connectivity

1. David C Gruskin
2. Daniel J Vieira
3. Jessica K Lee
4. Gaurav H Patel

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This paper addresses a valuable research question on the heritability of the brain's response to movie watching, given various parameters such as regional spatial hyperalignment and BOLD frequency bands. The topic of this paper would be of interest to fMRI methodological experts, and potentially to a broader cognitive neuroscience audience, and those with an interest in understanding the heritable sources of individual differences in brain function. However, the current findings provide incomplete support for the conclusions, since several key methodological concerns need to be addressed to ensure the validity of the analyses and results.

Reviewed by eLife

Synapses drive local mitochondrial ATP synthesis to fuel plasticity

1. Ilika Ghosh
2. Ruolin Fan
3. Monil Shah
4. Ojasee Bapat
5. Vidhya Rangaraju

Reviewed by preLights

A low-cost FPGA-based approach for pile-up corrected high-speed in vivo FLIM imaging

1. Felipe Velasquez Moros
2. Dorian Amiet
3. Rachel M. Meister
4. Alexandra von Faber-Castell
5. Matthias Wyss
6. Aiman S. Saab
7. Paul Zbinden
8. Bruno Weber
9. Luca Ravotto

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Whole-brain neural substrates of behavioral variability in the larval zebrafish

1. Jason Manley
2. Alipasha Vaziri

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Manley and Vaziri introduce an important new method for brain-wide imaging of cellular activity in zebrafish and provide evidence for the applicability of this technique. They use this method to explore the question of how neural variability gives rise to variability in behavior. The analyses used are mostly convincing, although questions regarding spatial and temporal imaging resolution and their effects on the study's interpretations and conclusions suggest only partial support for some of the central results.

Reviewed by eLife

A SMARTTR workflow for multi-ensemble atlas mapping and brain-wide network analysis

1. Michelle Jin
2. Simon O Ogundare
3. Marcos Lanio
4. Sophia Sorid
5. Alicia Ruth Whye
6. Sofia Leal Santos
7. Alessandra Franceschini
8. Christine Ann Denny

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript describes methods and software, called SMARTR, to map neuronal networks using markers of neuronal activity. They illustrate their approach using tissue from mice that have undergone behavioral tasks. The reviewers considered the study important to the field and compelling in that the methods and analyses were an advance over current tools.

Reviewed by eLife

Sub-type specific connectivity between CA3 pyramidal neurons may underlie their sequential activation during sharp waves

1. Rosanna P Sammons
2. Stefano Masserini
3. Laura Moreno Velasquez
4. Verjinia D Metodieva
5. Gaspar Cano
6. Andrea Sannio
7. Marta Orlando
8. Nikolaus Maier
9. Richard Kempter
10. Dietmar Schmitz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study represents valuable findings on the asymmetric connectivity pattern of two different types of CA3 pyramidal cell types showing that while athorny cells receive strong inputs from all other cell types, thorny cells receive weaker inputs from athorny neurons. Computational modeling is used to evaluate the impact of this connectivity scheme on the sequential activation of different cell types during sharp wave ripples. The evidence combining experimental and computational modelling approaches convincingly supports the authors' claims regarding the network mechanisms underlying the temporal sequences of neuronal activity during sharp-waves.

Reviewed by eLife