Neuroscience

Improved inference of latent neural states from calcium imaging data

1. Stephen Keeley
2. David Zoltowski
3. Adam Charles
4. Jonathan Pillow

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study provides a practical computational framework for inferring latent neural states directly from calcium fluorescence recordings, bypassing the traditional need for a separate spike deconvolution step. The evidence supporting the method is solid, featuring rigorous validation across multiple latent variable model families (including HMM, GPFA, and LFADS) using both simulated and experimental data. However, the assessment of the method's generality would be further strengthened by application to a broader range of experimental datasets, such as recordings from different brain regions or using different calcium indicators.

Reviewed by eLife

Dual-feature selectivity enables bidirectional coding in visual cortical neurons

1. Katrin Franke
2. Nikos Karantzas
3. Konstantin Willeke
4. Maria Diamantaki
5. Kandan Ramakrishnan
6. Hasan Atakan Bedel
7. Pavithra Elumalai
8. Kelli Restivo
9. Paul Fahey
10. Cate Nealley
11. Tori Shinn
12. Gabrielle Garcia
13. Saumil Patel
14. Alexander Ecker
15. Edgar Y Walker
16. Emmanouil Froudarakis
17. Sophia Sanborn
18. Fabian H Sinz
19. Andreas Tolias

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors combine a modeling approach, using a digital twin, with electrophysiological evidence in two species to assess the role of inhibition in shaping selectivity in the visual cortex. The results provide an important advance beyond the classic view of sensory coding by proving compelling evidence that many neurons in visual areas exhibit dual-feature selectivity. Overall, the work exceptionally showcases how in silico experiments can generate concrete hypotheses about neuronal coding that are difficult to discover experimentally.

Reviewed by eLife

Distinct goal location beta frequency dynamics in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex across learning

1. Glingna Wang
2. Nan Zhou
3. Zachary M Leveroni
4. Jai Y Yu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This paper represents a valuable contribution to our understanding of how LFP oscillations and beta band coordination between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of rats may relate to learning. Enthusiasm for the reported results was moderated by the concern that some key analyses need to be done, and highly relevant details about task, data, and statistics were missing. Consequently, the reviewers considered the evidence to be incomplete in this version of the manuscript.

Reviewed by eLife

Trisomy 21 impairs synchronized activity and connectivity in developing human down syndrome cortical excitatory neuron networks

1. Manuel Peter
2. Raquel Real
3. Alessio Strano
4. Hugh P. C. Robinson
5. Mark A. Smith
6. Samuel J. Barnes
7. Vincenzo de Paola
8. Frederick J. Livesey

Reviewed by Review Commons

A forebrain hub for cautious actions via the midbrain

1. Ji Zhou
2. Muhammad Sarmad Sajid
3. Sebastian Hormigo
4. Manuel A Castro-Alamancos

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study uses fiber photometry, implantable lenses, and optogenetics, to show that a subset of subthalamic nucleus neurons are active during movement, and that active but not passive avoidance depends in part on STN projections to substantia nigra. The strength of the evidence for these claims is solid and this paper may be of interest to basic and applied behavioural neuroscientists working on movement or avoidance.

Reviewed by eLife

Disruption of theta-timescale spiking impairs learning but spares hippocampal replay

1. Abhilasha Joshi
2. Alison E Comrie
3. Samuel Bray
4. Abhijith Mankili
5. Jennifer A Guidera
6. Rhino Nevers
7. Xulu Sun
8. Emily Monroe
9. Viktor Kharazia
10. Ryan Ly
11. Daniela Astudillo Maya
12. Denisse Morales-Rodriguez
13. Jai Yu
14. Anna Kiseleva
15. Victor Perez
16. Loren M Frank

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study employs a closed-loop, theta-phase-specific optogenetic manipulation of medial septal parvalbumin-expressing neurons in rats and reports that disrupting theta-timescale coordination impairs performance of challenging aspects of spatial behaviors, while sparing hippocampal replay and spatial coding in hippocampal place cells. The findings are expected to advance theoretical understanding of learning and memory operations and to provide practical implications for the application of similar optogenetic approaches. The experiments were viewed as technically rigorous, but the strength of evidence provided in the current version of the manuscript was viewed as incomplete, mostly due to limited analyses and the descriptions of some of the experimental protocols.

Reviewed by eLife

Large-scale bidirectional arrayed genetic screens identify OXR1 and EMC4 as modifiers of α-synuclein aggregation

1. Sandesh Neupane
2. Lea Nikolić
3. Lorenzo Maraio
4. Thomas Goiran
5. Nathan Karpilovsky
6. Stefano Sellitto
7. Vangelis Bouris
8. Jiang-An Yin
9. Ronald Melki
10. Edward A. Fon
11. Elena De Cecco
12. Adriano Aguzzi

Reviewed by Review Commons

The oneirogen hypothesis: modeling the hallucinatory effects of classical psychedelics in terms of replay-dependent plasticity mechanisms

1. Colin Bredenberg
2. Fabrice Normandin
3. Blake Richards
4. Guillaume Lajoie

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This paper provides a useful new theory of the hallucinatory effects of 5-HT2A psychedelics. The authors present convincing evidence that a computational model trained with the Wake-Sleep algorithm can reproduce some features of hallucinations by varying the strength of top-down connections in the model, though it is not clear that this model applies to 5-HT2A hallucinogens in particular. The work will be of interest to researchers studying hallucinations or offline activity and plasticity more broadly.

Reviewed by eLife

Real-Time Closed-Loop Feedback System For Mouse Mesoscale Cortical Signal And Movement Control: CLoPy

1. Pankaj K Gupta
2. Timothy H Murphy

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a platform to implement closed-loop experiments in mice based on auditory feedback. The authors provide convincing evidence that their platform enables a variety of closed-loop experiments using neural or movement signals, indicating that it will be a valuable resource to the neuroscience community. The paper could be strengthened by the addition of additional tutorials, such as on how to run an experiment.

Reviewed by eLife

Toward neuroanatomical and cognitive foundations of macaque social tolerance grades

1. Sarah Silvère
2. Julien Lamy
3. Chrystelle Po
4. Mathieu Legrand
5. Jerome Sallet
6. Sebastien Ballesta

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work compares the size of two brain areas, the amygdala and the hippocampus, across 12 species belonging to the Macaca genus. The authors find, using a convincing methodological approach, that amygdala - but not hippocampal - volume varies with social tolerance grade, with high tolerance species showing larger amygdala than low tolerance species of macaques. Interestingly, their findings also suggest an inverted developmental effect, with intolerant species showing an increase in amygdala volume across the lifespan, compared to tolerant species exhibiting the opposite trend. Overall, this paper offers new insights into the neural basis of social and emotional processing.

Reviewed by eLife