Neuroscience

Parallel mechanisms signal a hierarchy of sequence structure violations in the auditory cortex

1. Sara Jamali
2. Sophie Bagur
3. Enora Bremont
4. Timo Van Kerkoerle
5. Stanislas Dehaene
6. Brice Bathellier

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study advances our understanding of the way neurons in the auditory cortex of mice respond to unpredictable sounds. Through the use of state-of-the-art recording methods, compelling evidence is provided that responses to local and global violations in sound sequences are prediction errors and not simply the consequence of stimulus-specific adaptation. Although the cell-type-specific results are intriguing, further work is needed to establish their reliability.

Reviewed by eLife

Olfactory cortical outputs recruit and shape distinct brain-wide spatiotemporal networks

1. Teng Ma
2. Xunda Wang
3. Xuehong Lin
4. Junjian Wen
5. Linshan Xie
6. Pek-Lan Khong
7. Peng Cao
8. Ed X Wu
9. Alex TL Leong

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study partially fills the gap in the knowledge of olfaction at the level of the Anterior Olfactory Nucleus (AON) and Piriform Cortex with functional magnetic resonance imaging, electrophysiology, and modeling. The methods used are convincing. Some of the findings confirm ongoing hypotheses, such as the behavioral importance of AON for odor source discrimination. Other results shed light on the dynamics of the connection between the olfactory system and the rest of the brain.

Reviewed by eLife

Single neurons and networks in the mouse claustrum integrate input from widespread cortical sources

1. Andrew M Shelton
2. David K Oliver
3. Ivan P Lazarte
4. Joachim S Grimstvedt
5. Ishaan Kapoor
6. Jake A Swann
7. Caitlin A Ashcroft
8. Simon N Williams
9. Niall Conway
10. Selma Tir
11. Amy Robinson
12. Stuart Peirson
13. Thomas Akam
14. Clifford G Kentros
15. Menno P Witter
16. Simon JB Butt
17. Adam Max Packer

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study compiles a wide range of results on the connectivity, stimulus selectivity, and potential role of the claustrum in sensory behavior. While most of the connectivity results confirm earlier studies, this valuable work provides incomplete evidence that the claustrum responds to multimodal stimuli and that local connectivity is reduced across cells that have similar long-range connectivity. The conclusions drawn from the behavioral results are weakened by the animals' poor performance on the designed task. This study has the potential to be of interest to neuroscientists.

Reviewed by eLife

Mediodorsal thalamic nucleus mediates resistance to ethanol through Cav3.1 T-type Ca2+ regulation of neural activity

1. Charles-francois V Latchoumane
2. Joon-Hyuk Lee
3. Seong-Wook Kim
4. Jinhyun Kim
5. Hee-Sup Shin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study investigates the relationship between neuronal dynamics in the thalamus and brain state modulation. The claims that a specific channel is a critical player in the regulation of brain-states and ethanol-resistance in mice are supported by convincing evidence. The work will be of interest to systems neuroscientists interested in brain dynamics and behavioural states.

Reviewed by eLife

Spinal V1 inhibitory interneuron clades differ in birthdate, projections to motoneurons, and heterogeneity

1. Andrew E Worthy
2. Joanna T Anderson
3. Alicia R Lane
4. Laura J Gomez-Perez
5. Anthony A Wang
6. Ronald W Griffith
7. Andre F Rivard
8. Jay B Bikoff
9. Francisco J Alvarez

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides a valuable description of subtypes of V1 neurons, including birthdates and connections to motor neurons. V1 neurons are one of the main groups of inhibitory neurons in the spinal cord. The methods of data collection and analysis are convincing. This work will interest developmental biologists and neuroscientists working on spinal circuits.

Reviewed by eLife

Astrocytes mediate two forms of spike timing-dependent depression at entorhinal cortex-hippocampal synapses

1. Irene Martínez-Gallego
2. Heriberto Coatl-Cuaya
3. Antonio Rodriguez-Moreno

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study reports the existence of specific spike-timing dependent synaptic plasticity processes at two excitatory synapses of the dentate gyrus granule cells. These synapses link the entorhinal cortex and the dentate gyrus but via different circuits. With state-of-the-art patch-clamp electrophysiological analysis, the authors provide convincing information on the molecular mechanisms underlying these 2 forms of synaptic plasticity showing a critical role for astrocytes in both alongside some features distinctive to each pathway. These results will be of interest to neuroscientists as they uncover detailed plasticity mechanisms involving the hippocampus.

Reviewed by eLife

Spatial frequency channels mediate a mental ruler for spatial vision in humans

1. Shijia Zhang
2. Ce Mo
3. Lei Mo
4. Fang Fang

Reviewed by PREreview

Basolateral amygdala oscillations enable fear learning in a biophysical model

1. Anna Cattani
2. Don B Arnold
3. Michelle McCarthy
4. Nancy Kopell

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable modeling study explores how biophysical properties of different interneuron subtypes in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) enable production of oscillations that facilitate functions such as spike-timing-dependent plasticity. Simulated networks provide solid evidence that highlights the importance of interactions between interneurons for some forms of spike-timing dependent plasticity. This work will likely be of interest to investigators studying interactions among interneurons, rhythms in the amygdala, and mechanisms of plasticity thought to underlie associative learning.

Reviewed by eLife

Targeting resident astrocytes attenuates neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury

1. Qing Zhao
2. Yanjing Zhu
3. Yilong Ren
4. Lijuan Zhao
5. Jingwei Zhao
6. Shuai Yin
7. Haofei Ni
8. Rongrong Zhu
9. Liming Cheng
10. Ning Xie

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study demonstrated that ablation of astrocytes in the lumbar spinal cord not only reduced neuropathic pain but also caused microglia activation. The findings presented add considerable value to the current understanding of the role of astrocyte elimination in neuropathic pain, offering convincing evidence that supports existing hypotheses and insights into the interactions between astrocytes and microglial cells, likely through IFN-mediated mechanisms

Reviewed by eLife

A peptide-neurotensin conjugate that crosses the blood-brain barrier induces pharmacological hypothermia associated with anticonvulsant, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory properties following status epilepticus in mice

1. Lotfi Ferhat
2. Rabia Soussi
3. Maxime Masse
4. Grigorios Kyriatzis
5. Stéphane Girard
6. Fanny Gassiot
7. Nicolas Gaudin
8. Mathieu Laurencin
9. Anne Bernard
10. Angélique Bôle
11. Géraldine Ferracci
12. Maria Smirnova
13. François Roman
14. Vincent Dive
15. Salvatore Cisternino
16. Jamal Temsamani
17. Marion David
18. Pascaline Lécorché
19. Guillaume Jacquot
20. Michel Khrestchatisky

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors developed a method to allow a hypothermic agent, neurotensin, to cross the blood-brain barrier so it could potentially protect the brain from seizures and the adverse effects of seizures. The work is important because it is known that cooling the brain can protect it but developing a therapeutic approach based on that knowledge has not been done. The paper is well presented and the data are convincing.

Reviewed by eLife