Neuroscience

Distinct representational properties of cues and contexts shape fear and reversal learning

1. Antoine Bouyeure
2. Daniel Pacheco-Estefan
3. George Jacob
4. Malte Kobelt
5. Marie-Christin Fellner
6. Jonas Rose
7. Nikolai Axmacher

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is an important study with convincing evidence that multi-voxel fMRI activity patterns for threat-conditioned stimuli are altered by learning CS-US contingencies. The analyses are dense, but rigorous. The protocol is quite nuanced and complex, but the authors have done a fair job of explaining and presenting the results. The work is relevant for our understanding of how effective learning changes neural stimulus representation in the human brain.

Reviewed by eLife

The influence of nucleus accumbens shell D1 and D2 neurons on outcome-specific Pavlovian instrumental transfer

1. Octavia Soegyono
2. Elise Pepin
3. Beatrice K Leung
4. Billy Chieng
5. Bernard W Balleine
6. Vincent Laurent

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides novel and convincing evidence that both dopamine D1 and D2 expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens shell are crucial for the expression of cue-guided action selection, a core component of decision-making. The research is systematic and rigorous in using optogenetic inhibition of either D1- or D2-expressing medium spiny neurons in the NAc shell to reveal attenuation of sensory-specific Pavlovian-Instrumental transfer, while largely sparing value-based decision on an instrumental task. The important findings in this report build on prior research and resolve some conflicts in the literature regarding decision-making.

Reviewed by eLife

Cerebellar Purkinje cell stripe patterns reveal a differential vulnerability and resistance to cell loss during normal aging in mice

1. Sarah G Donofrio
2. Cheryl Brandenburg
3. Amanda M Brown
4. Tao Lin
5. Hsiang-Chih Lu
6. Roy V Sillitoe

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study presents findings on the patterned loss of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum during aging. The compelling data nicely support the conclusions of this study. This work advances understanding of mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration with aging and provides the basis for development of treatments for age-related neurological disorders.

Reviewed by eLife

Combined transcriptomic, connectivity, and activity profiling of the medial amygdala using highly amplified multiplexed in situ hybridization (hamFISH)

1. Mathew D Edwards
2. Ziwei Yin
3. Risa Sueda
4. Alina Gubanova
5. Chang S Xu
6. Virág Lakner
7. Megan Murchie
8. Chi-Yu Lee
9. Kristal Ng
10. Karolina Farrell
11. Rupert Faraway
12. Subham Ganguly
13. Elina Jacobs
14. Bogdan Bintu
15. Yoh Isogai

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The study presents important findings that are highly relevant for research aiming to combine transcriptomics, connectivity studies, and activity profiling in the rodent brain and the revisions improve the study. The evidence overall remains convincing as the authors use appropriate and validated methodology in line with current state-of-the-art.

Reviewed by eLife

Neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex are involved in spatial tuning and signaling upcoming choice independently from hippocampal sharp-wave ripples

1. Hanna den Bakker
2. Fabian Kloosterman

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study reports analyses of Neuropixel recordings in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of rats in a spatial navigation trial, focusing on classifying prefrontal neurons based on SWR modulation and anatomical location. Reviewers were unconvinced by the presented evidence for the claim that distinct populations of mPFC neurons participate in non-local ensemble representations during SWR and non-SWR periods, and were unconvinced by the presented evidence for a previously unrecognized anatomical distinction between these populations. Further analyses might strengthen the incomplete evidence for some conclusions, and some of the strong claims of the paper should likely be moderated.

Reviewed by eLife

Progressive remote memory decline coincides with parvalbumin interneuron hyperexcitability and enhanced inhibition of cortical engram cells in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

1. Julia J van Adrichem
2. Rolinka J van der Loo
3. Romina Ambrosini Defendi
4. August B Smit
5. Michel C van den Oever
6. Ronald E van Kesteren

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of remote memory impairment in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model. The evidence is compelling, with careful use of viral-TRAP labeling and patch-clamp electrophysiology to demonstrate altered inhibitory microcircuit function, though the mechanistic link to memory deficits remains correlative. Overall, the work advances understanding of early circuit-level changes in AD, while highlighting open questions regarding causality and broader network contributions.

Reviewed by eLife

Responses to conflicting binocular stimuli in mouse primary visual cortex

1. Daniel P. Montgomery
2. Daniel A. Bowen
3. Jin Wu
4. Mark F. Bear
5. Eric D. Gaier

Reviewed by preLights

Peripheral glia and neurons jointly regulate activity-induced synaptic remodeling at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction

1. Yen-Ching Chang
2. Yi-Jheng Peng
3. Joo Yeun Lee
4. Annie Wen
5. Karen T Chang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable finding on a new role of glia in activity-dependent synaptic remodeling using the Drosophila NMJ as a model system. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is convincing. The authors have addressed most of the reviewers' concerns and help to further clarify the claims. The work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on glia-neuron interaction and synaptic remodeling.

Reviewed by eLife

Region-specific mechanosensation controls Drosophila postural control behaviour

1. William Roseby
2. Jonathan AC Menzies
3. Victoria A Lipscomb
4. Claudio R Alonso

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study by Roseby and colleagues shows that region-specific mechanosensation - especially anterior-dorsal inputs - controls larval self-righting, and links this to Hox gene function in sensory neurons. The work is important for understanding how body plan cues shape sensorimotor behaviour, and the experimental toolkit will be of use to others. The strength of evidence is solid with respect to the assays developed and the involvement of the anterior region; it is incomplete with respect to dorso-ventral involvement in that region and the role of Hox genes in the process. These findings will be of broad interest to researchers studying neural circuits, developmental genetics, and the evolution of behaviour.

Reviewed by eLife

A stochastic RNA editing process targets a select number of sites in individual Drosophila glutamatergic motoneurons

1. Andrés B Crane
2. Michiko O Inouye
3. Suresh K Jetti
4. J Troy Littleton

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study uses single-neuron Patch-seq RNA sequencing to investigate the process by which RNA editing can produce protein diversity and regulate function in various cellular contexts. The computational analyses of the data collected are convincing, and from an analytical standpoint, this paper is a notable advance in seeking to provide a biological context for massive amounts of data in the field. The study would be of interest to biologists looking at the effects of RNA editing in the diversification of cellular behaviour.

Reviewed by eLife