Neuroscience

Task and Behavior-Related Variables Are Encoded by the Postrhinal and Medial Entorhinal Cortex During Non-Spatial Associative Learning

1. Ingeborg Nymoen Nystuen
2. Frederik Sebastian Rogge
3. Anna Hjertvik Aasen
4. Sverre Grødem
5. Anders Malthe-Sørenssen
6. Mikkel Elle Lepperød
7. Torkel Hafting
8. Marianne Fyhn
9. Kristian Kinden Lensjø

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study investigates how neural representations in the postrhinal and medial entorhinal cortices evolve with the learning of a visual associative memory task in mice. The findings provide new insights into how non-spatial information is differentially encoded across interconnected brain areas, with strong evidence that stimulus encoding is robust in the postrhinal cortex and emerges more weakly in the medial entorhinal cortex with learning. The evidence is solid overall, particularly in the use of sophisticated population-level analyses and two-photon imaging across learning phases, although the interpretation of regression models and clustering would benefit from additional clarity and control. The work will be of broad interest to systems neuroscientists studying learning, memory, and cortical circuit function.

Reviewed by eLife

A high-throughput approach for the efficient prediction of perceived similarity of natural objects

1. Philipp Kaniuth
2. Florian P Mahner
3. Jonas Perkuhn
4. Martin N Hebart

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors show that an automated approach using artificial neural networks, which focuses on behaviourally relevant dimensions, can predict human similarity data up to a certain level of granularity. This study has the potential to be a valuable contribution to the broader field of cognitive computational neuroscience, as it provides a tool for the automated collection of similarity judgments under certain conditions. However, as of now, the significance of this method is somewhat limited because of its inability to generalise beyond between-category distinctions and the limited model evaluation. In terms of broader implications, the degree to which this work provides insights into DNN-brain alignment and a better understanding of the functional organisation of the visual system is supported by incomplete evidence.

Reviewed by eLife

Resilience of A Learned Motor Behavior After Chronic Disruption of Inhibitory Circuits

1. Zsofia Torok
2. Laura Luebbert
3. Jordan Feldman
4. Alison Duffy
5. Alexander A Nevue
6. Shelyn Wongso
7. Claudio V Mello
8. Adrienne Fairhall
9. Lior Pachter
10. Walter G Gonzalez
11. Carlos Lois

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study demonstrates that silencing of inhibitory interneurons in zebra finch HVC, a premotor nucleus critical for song production, disrupts song. However, song naturally recovers in a way that is surprisingly independent of LMAN, a distinct premotor nucleus required for normal song plasticity. The authors provide solid evidence that disruption is associated with microglial activation, activation of MHCI, synaptic changes, and altered neural dynamics in HVC. However, the manuscript would benefit from a clearer narrative structure, contextualization of the microglial results, and quantitative analyses to fully characterize song syntax and recovery after LMAN lesions.

Reviewed by eLife

Varicose-projection astrocytes: a reactive phenotype associated with neuropathology

1. Caterina Ciani
2. Giulio Pistorio
3. Simona Giancola
4. Marika Mearelli
5. Francesca Emma Mongelli
6. Delaram Forouzeh
7. Luca Mio
8. Paula Ramos-Gonzalez
9. Carlos Matute
10. Ugne Kuliesiute
11. Sari Elena Dötterer
12. Gediminas Luksys
13. Saulius Rocka
14. Urte Neniskyte
15. Marya Ayub
16. Jean-Marie Graïc
17. Francesco Petrelli
18. Alexei Verkhratsky
19. Nunzio Iraci
20. Fabio Cavaliere
21. Carmen Falcone

Reviewed by Arcadia Science