Neuroscience

eLife Assessment

The authors combined human assembloids, fetal brain tissue, bulk and single cell RNA sequencing, and live imaging to understand the molecular mechanisms affected by hypoxia during cortical development. The findings are very important to the neurodevelopmental field, They reveal new insights into how migration of cortical interneurons can be affected in hypoxic conditions, and provide exciting models to probe broad neurodevelopmental processes in health and disease. The evidence is compelling. The data and analyses are very rigorous and go beyond the state-of-the-art.

eLife Assessment

This important study examines the stability and compensatory plasticity in the retinotopic mapping in patients with congenital achromatopsia. It provides convincing evidence for a stable mapping of the visual field in V1, alongside changes of the readout from V1 into V3, which shows revised receptive field location and size. This paper would be of interest to scientists studying the visual system, brain plasticity, and development.

eLife Assessment

This study addresses an important question about how large-scale brain networks interact, and specifically how the default mode network exchanges information with the sensory cortex. The analyses are sophisticated, but at present provide incomplete evidence for the claims made in the paper.

eLife Assessment

The valuable study aims to differentiate between foveal and peripheral attentional mechanisms in visual and frontal brain regions in monkeys engaged in a free-gaze visual search task. The authors interpret differences in responses between target and nontarget conditions as feature-based attention; however, this may not be the correct interpretation. The authors do not provide enough information on how they distinguish foveal and peripheral RFs. Consequently, the study provides only incomplete evidence that does not support the authors' conclusions, and the significance of the findings is not strong.

eLife Assessment

This important study advances our understanding of the neural substrate of planning trajectories towards a goal by using recurrent neural networks. The manuscript provides solid evidence for most of the claims, but it remains unclear whether the dynamics do indeed bear the defining characteristics of attractors, and the interpretation and scope of some claims may need to be reassessed in light of prior work. The work will be of broad interest to theoretical and systems neuroscientists and to cognitive scientists.

eLife Assessment

This is an important study that takes a key step towards understanding developmental disorders linked to mutations in the O-GlcNAc transferase enzyme by generating a mouse model harboring the C921Y mutation. While the mechanisms remain open, the study thoroughly examines behavioral and anatomical differences in these mice and provides convincing evidence for behavioral hyperactivity and learning/memory deficits, as well as phenotypic differences in skull and brain formation. This study will be of interest to those studying neurodevelopmental disorders and associated mechanisms.

eLife Assessment

The manuscript presents important findings on how C. elegans can utilize distinct molecular mechanisms and circuit engagements to regulate tactile-dependent locomotory behaviours through the AFD thermosensory neuron. The authors use multiple techniques including microfluidics, genetic manipulations and single-copy rescue experiments, to provide compelling evidence for the role of AFD/AIB electrical synaptic connections in this behaviour. The reviewers are satisfied with the comprehensive revisions made by the authors.

eLife Assessment

This study uses a Bayesian framework to characterize latent brain state dynamics associated with memory encoding and performance in children, as measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. The novelty of the approach offers valuable insights into memory-related brain activity, but the consideration of developmental changes in memory and brain dynamics, and the evidence to support the proposed mapping between specific states and distinct aspects of memory, are incomplete. This work will be of interest to researchers interested in cognitive neuroscience and the development of memory.

eLife Assessment

This fundamental study substantially advances our understanding of sibling chimerism in marmosets by demonstrating that chimerism is limited to hematopoietic cells. The evidence supporting these findings is compelling, demonstrated through comprehensive analyses, including single-cell RNA-seq data from multiple individuals and tissues. A few minor concerns were successfully addressed in a revision. The work will be of broad interest to many fields of biology.

eLife Assessment

This important work examines the effects of gaze on valuation signals in the human brain as participants choose between bundles of sequentially presented items food items. The paper provides convincing analyses of how gaze affects participants choice behaviour and how this varies across time. The work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on attention and decision-making.