Neuroscience

Toward Robust Neuroanatomical Normative Models: Influence of Sample Size and Covariates Distributions

1. Camille Elleaume
2. Bruno Hebling Vieira
3. Dorothea L Floris
4. Nicolas Langer
5. the Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle flagship study of ageing

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important manuscript evaluates how sample size and demographic balance of reference cohorts affect the reliability of normative models. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, although some additional analysis and clarifications could improve the generalisability of the conclusions. This work will be of interest to clinicians and scientists working with normative models.

Reviewed by eLife

Adult-neurogenesis allows for representational stability and flexibility in early olfactory system

1. Zhen Chen
2. Krishnan Padmanabhan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This paper presents a valuable theory and analysis of the role of neurogenesis and inhibitory plasticity in the drift of neural representations in the olfactory system. For one of the findings, regarding the impact of neurogenesis on the drift, the evidence remains incomplete. The reason lies in the differences in variability/drift of the mitral/tufted cell responses observed in the model compared to experimental observations, where these responses remain stable over extended time scales.

Reviewed by eLife

Distinct cortical encoding of acoustic and electrical cochlear stimulation

1. Ariel Edward Hight
2. Michele N Insanally
3. Julia K Scarpa
4. Yew-Song Cheng
5. Michael Trumpis
6. Jonathan Viventi
7. Mario A Svirsky
8. Robert C Froemke

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study compares auditory cortex responses to sounds and cochlear implant stimulation measured with surface electrode grids in rats. Beyond the reduced frequency resolution of cochlear implants observed previously, this study suggests key discrepancies between neuronal representations of cochlear stimulations and natural sounds. However, the evidence for this potentially interesting result is incomplete because there is a lack of evidence for the effectiveness of the comparison method. This study is of interest to researchers in the auditory neuroscience field and clinicians implementing treatments with cochlear implants.

Reviewed by eLife

Frequency and Laminar Profile of Feature Specific Visual Activity Revealed by Interleaved EEG-fMRI

1. Tommy Clausner
2. José P Marques
3. René Scheeringa
4. Mathilde Bonnefond

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study uses simultaneous EEG and fMRI recordings to shed light on the relationship between alpha and gamma oscillations and specific cortical layers. The sophisticated methodology provides solid evidence for correlations between oscillatory power and the strength and contents of fMRI signals in different cortical layers, though some caveats remain. This paper will be of interest to neuroscientists studying the role and mechanisms of alpha and gamma oscillations.

Reviewed by eLife

Absence of Systematic Effects of Internalizing Psychopathology on Learning Under Uncertainty

1. Muhammad H Satti
2. Katharina Wille
3. Matthew R Nassar
4. Radoslaw M Cichy
5. Nicolas W Schuck
6. Peter Dayan
7. Rasmus Bruckner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides important results with regard to the ongoing debate of the relationship between internalizing psychopathology and learning under uncertainty. The methods and analyses are solid, and the results are backed by a large sample size, yet the study could still benefit from a more detailed discussion about the difference in experimental design and analysis compared to previous studies. If these concerns are addressed, this study would be of interest to researchers in clinical and computational psychiatry for the behavioral markers of psychopathological symptoms.

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

Death receptor 6 does not regulate axon degeneration and Schwann cell injury responses during Wallerian degeneration

1. Bogdan Beirowski
2. Haoran Huang
3. Elisabetta Babetto

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this valuable study, through carefully executed and rigorously controlled experiments, the authors challenged a previously reported role of the Death Receptor 6 (DR6/Tnfrsf21) in Wallerian degeneration (WD). Using two DR6 knockout mouse lines and multiple WD assays, both in vitro and in vivo, the authors provided convincing evidence that loss of DR6 in mice does not protect peripheral axons from WD after injury. Questions remain about whether this conclusion is generalizable to CNS axonal degeneration in disease models such as ALS, AD, and prion diseases. In addition, the authors need to provide information about the sex, age, and genetic background of their animal studies to allow readers to better assess the basis for inconsistencies from previous reports on the protective effects of DR6.

Reviewed by eLife

Generation of knock-in Cre and FlpO mouse lines for precise targeting of striatal projection neurons and dopaminergic neurons

1. Eddy Albarran
2. Akira Fushiki
3. Anders Nelson
4. David Ng
5. Corryn Chaimowitz
6. Laudan Nikoobakht
7. Tanya Sippy
8. Darcy S Peterka
9. Rui M Costa

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work has the potential to expand the repertoire of transgenic animals for systems neuroscience investigations across multiple fields. The generation of new reagents has the potential to open new directions in experimental design, and the Cas9-based approach for generating mice may provide additional benefits compared to existing BAC transgenic mouse lines. However, whereas some of the imaging data are compelling, quantitative analysis of transgene fidelity is incomplete, as it relies on a qualitative description of reporter XFP expression at low magnification, with some electrophysiological characterization.

Reviewed by eLife

Center-surround inhibition by expectation: a neuro-computational account

1. Ling Huang
2. Shiqi Shen
3. Yueling Sun
4. Shipei Ou
5. Ruyuan Zhang
6. Floris P de Lange
7. Xilin Zhang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a methodologically rich manuscript that is important for revealing the center-surround inhibition profile of expectation in orientation space. The analyses are compelling in validating the critical role of predictive coding feedback. The findings provide novel insights into how expectation optimizes perception via enhancement and suppression.

Reviewed by eLife

Brain-wide arousal signals are segregated from movement planning in the superior colliculus

1. Richard Johnston
2. Matthew A Smith

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable finding relating to how the state of arousal is represented within the superior colliculus, a principal visuo-oculomotor structure. The main conclusion that the representation of arousal is segregated, and thus influences visual activity but not motor output, is incompletely supported by the evidence, but could be stronger if a specific concern relating to an alternative explanation for the dichotomy was addressed. The work will be of interest to sensory, motor, and cognitive neuroscientists.

Reviewed by eLife