Neuroscience

Beyond gradients: Factorized, geometric control of interference and generalization

1. Daniel N Scott
2. Michael J Frank

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study introduces a novel method for controlling generalization and interference in neural networks undergoing continual learning. The authors provide solid evidence that their parsimonious method performs better than online gradient descent in several continual learning situations while providing biologically plausible links to three-factor learning rules. However, empirical validation is limited to linear networks, which raises questions about the generality of the results in non-linear networks. While the work is interesting to theoretical and experimental neuroscientists, improving the article presentation by clearly defining terminology before using it and providing more details on the setup of the simulation experiments would be vital to make the article more accessible.

Reviewed by eLife

Correlated spontaneous activity sets up multi-sensory integration in the developing higher-order cortex

1. JaeAnn M Dwulet
2. Nawal Zabouri
3. Jan H Kirchner
4. Marina E Wosniack
5. Alessandra Raspanti
6. Deyue Kong
7. Gerrit J Houwen
8. Paloma P Maldonado
9. Christian Lohmann
10. Julijana Gjorgjieva

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study combines experiments and theory to investigate the putative role of spontaneous correlated activity in establishing aligned topographic maps of neural activity in higher-order sensory areas, and will be of interest to researchers studying multisensory integration and brain development. However, the evidence presented is incomplete, as there are notable disconnects between the experimental data and the modeling setup, and there are methodological details that are either unclear or missing, limiting the strength of the claims.

Reviewed by eLife

A neurotrophin functioning with a Toll regulates structural plasticity in a dopaminergic circuit

1. Jun Sun
2. Francisca Rojo-Cortes
3. Suzana Ulian-Benitez
4. Manuel G Forero
5. Guiyi Li
6. Deepanshu ND Singh
7. Xiaocui Wang
8. Sebastian Cachero
9. Marta Moreira
10. Dean Kavanagh
11. Gregory SXE Jefferis
12. Vincent Croset
13. Alicia Hidalgo

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study identifies neurotrophin signaling as a molecular mechanism underlying previous findings of structural plasticity in central dopaminergic neurons of the adult fly brain. The authors present solid evidence for neurotrophin signaling in shaping the structure and synapses of certain dopaminergic circuits. The work suggests an intriguing potential link between neurotrophin signaling and experience-induced structural plasticity but further research will be necessary to establish this connection definitively.

Reviewed by eLife

Discriminating neural ensemble patterns through dendritic computations in randomly connected feedforward networks

1. Bhanu Priya Somashekar
2. Upinder Singh Bhalla

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents valuable quantitative insights into the prevalence of functionally clustered synaptic inputs on neuronal dendrites. The simple analytical calculations and computer simulations provide solid support for the main arguments. The findings can lead to a more detailed understanding of how dendrites contribute to the computation of neuronal networks.

Reviewed by eLife

Challenges and Efficacy of Astrocyte-to-Neuron Reprogramming in Spinal Cord Injury: In Vitro Insights and In Vivo Outcomes

1. ALESSIA NICEFORO
2. Lyandysha V Zholudeva
3. Silvia Fernandes
4. Yashvi Shah
5. Michael A Lane
6. Liang Qiang

Reviewed by PREreview

Encoding of cerebellar dentate neuron activity during visual attention in rhesus macaques

1. Nico A Flierman
2. Sue Ann Koay
3. Willem S van Hoogstraten
4. Tom JH Ruigrok
5. Pieter Roelfsema
6. Aleksandra Badura
7. Chris I De Zeeuw

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study examined neuronal activity in the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum when monkeys performed a difficult perceptual decision-making task. The authors provide convincing evidence that the cerebellum represents sensory, motor, and behavioral outcome signals that are sent to the attentional system. This paper is of great general interest in that it shows the involvement of the cerebellum in cognitive processes at the neuronal level.

Reviewed by eLife

Valence and salience encoding in the central amygdala

1. Mi-Seon Kong
2. Ethan Ancell
3. Daniela M Witten
4. Larry S Zweifel

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful work reveals differential activity to food and shock outcomes in central amygdala GABAergic neurons. Evidence supports claims of unconditioned stimulus activity that changes with learning. Compelling evidence that the circular shift method rigorously identifies functional neuron types is also presented. However, the evidence regarding claims related to valence or salience signaling in these neurons is incomplete. This work will be of interest to neuroscientists studying sensory processing and learning in the amygdala.

Reviewed by eLife

High-resolution awake mouse fMRI at 14 tesla

1. David Hike
2. Xiaochen Liu
3. Zeping Xie
4. Bei Zhang
5. Sangcheon Choi
6. Xiaoqing Alice Zhou
7. Andy Liu
8. Alyssa Murstein
9. Yuanyuan Jiang
10. Anna Devor
11. Xin Yu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a valuable study describing an implementation of awake mouse fMRI with implanted head coils at high fields. The evidence presented is convincing, combining technical advances with interesting neuroscience applications showing that mice anticipate stimuli given at regular (but at irregular) intervals.

Reviewed by eLife

The satiety hormone cholecystokinin gates reproduction in fish by controlling gonadotropin secretion

1. Lian Hollander-Cohen
2. Omer Cohen
3. Miriam Shulman
4. Tomer Aiznkot
5. Pierre Fontanaud
6. Omer Revah
7. Patrice Mollard
8. Matan Golan
9. Berta Levavi-Sivan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents valuable findings on the role of the satiety hormone cholecystokinin typically associated with feeding in the control of a pituitary hormone, FSH, which is a critical regulator of reproductive physiology. The authors provide solid pharmacological evidence that cholecystokinin is sufficient to regulate FSH and compelling genetic evidence that one of its receptors is required for gonadal development, with uncertainties remaining about the physiological regulation and necessity of the peptide. The work will be of interest to reproductive biologists, especially those with an interest in the endocrine control of fertility.

Reviewed by eLife

Dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity-independent cues and local activity-dependent plasticity

1. Jan H Kirchner
2. Lucas Euler
3. Ingo Fritz
4. André Ferreira Castro
5. Julijana Gjorgjieva

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work investigates how two distinct processes, morphological changes and synaptic plasticity, contribute to the final shape of neuronal dendrites and the spatial structure of their synaptic inputs. The modelling is convincing and could be broadly applied to other similar questions. The work will be of interest to neuroscientists studying dendritic development and connectivity at a single-cell level.

Reviewed by eLife