eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Continuous partitioning of neuronal variability

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Anuththara Rupasinghe
   2. Adam S. Charles
   3. Jonathan W. Pillow

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This work of fundamental significance introduces a novel statistical model of spiking activity that incorporates continuous-time gain modulation. The authors provide exceptional evidence that the model outperforms earlier approaches and alternative candidates in capturing spiking responses across multiple visual areas in the macaque. Beyond its methodological contribution, the study offers new insights into how stimulus-driven variability and internally generated gain fluctuations evolve over time and between brain areas. The framework is likely to find broad application beyond the datasets examined here.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Identity and functions of monoaminergic neurons in the predatory nematode Pristionchus pacificus reveal nervous system conservation and divergence

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Curtis M Loer
   2. Hyunsoo Yim
   3. Luke T Geiger
   4. Yasmin H Ramadan
   5. Megan F Hampton
   6. Diana V Bernal
   7. Heather R Carstensen
   8. Jorge Morgan
   9. Laura Rivard
   10. Theresa Medina
   11. Steven J Cook
   12. Misako Okumura
   13. James W Lightfoot
   14. Oliver Hobert
   15. Ray L Hong

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents valuable insights into cellular sites of monoamine production and presence in Pristionchus pacificus, providing a comparative reference for the detailed knowledge of C. elegans, as well as using this information to compare serotonergic anatomy in 22 nematode species. Functional assays support evolved differences in monoaminergic control over certain, but not all, tested behaviors. The evidence is convincing, combining careful genetic experiments and comparative analysis that are well aligned with the conclusions. The results will serve as a basis for (comparative) structural-functional studies of nematode behavior.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Individual Taste Preferences Predict Cortical Taste Dynamics but Are Modified by Experience

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Kathleen C. Maigler
   2. Jian-You Lin
   3. Ethan Crouse
   4. Bradly T. Stone
   5. Ainsley E. Craddock
   6. Donald B. Katz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study demonstrates how individual taste preferences shift over time, how these changes relate to cortical activity, and how experience reshapes both. The evidence is largely solid, although additional analyses are needed to strengthen some of the conclusions. The results should be of interest to neuroscientists studying sensory physiology.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. High performance sorting of motor unit action potentials with EMUsort

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Sean O’Connell
   2. Jonathan A. Michaels
   3. Runming Wang
   4. Sahit Mamidipaka
   5. Manikandan Venkatesh
   6. Nevin Aresh
   7. Marius Pachitariu
   8. J. Andrew Pruszynski
   9. Samuel J. Sober
   10. Chethan Pandarinath

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study presents a new method to identify the activity of single motor units from intramuscular EMG recordings. Validation against state-of-the-art techniques is limited to a small sample of simulated motor units; consequently, the evidence supporting the method's accuracy remains incomplete. The manuscript would be significantly strengthened by using more unbiased simulations for validation, validating the method with experimental datasets, comparing it against more recent techniques, and investigating how muscle physiology impacts accuracy.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. A lipoprotein partner for the Escherichia coli outer membrane protein TolC

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Jim Horne
   2. Elise Kaplan
   3. Ben HS Jin
   4. Kieran Abbott
   5. Victor Flores
   6. Emmanouela Petsolari
   7. Jan M. Gradon
   8. Yvette Ntsogo
   9. Andrzej Harris
   10. Dingquan Yu
   11. Ashraf Zarkan
   12. Ben F. Luisi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this fundamental work Horne et al present compelling evidence that YbjP is a novel binding partner of the TolC channel protein. The YbjP is characterized using cryo-EM, and its role probed using pull-down experiments, in vivo crosslinking, functional assays along with phylogenetic analysis which are all properly performed and presented and support the main conclusions. While the study does not identify a clear role for this protein, the results contribute to the understanding of this complex system and will be of interest to those working in the fields of membrane transport and antimicrobial resistance.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Retrieval practice prevents stress-induced inference impairment by restoring rapid memory reactivation

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Jinpeng Guo
   2. Ruixin Chen
   3. Qi Zhao
   4. Xiaojun Sun
   5. Wei Liu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents valuable findings on how retrieval practice protects memory inferences from stress via covert memory reactivation. Via two EEG experiments manipulating stress and retrieval practice, the authors provide solid evidence supporting the conclusion. This work will be of interest to cognitive and affective neuroscientists working on the intersection between memory and stress.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Scanning and active sampling behaviours emerge from conserved insect neural circuits

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Cody A Freas
   2. Antoine Wystrach

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This modeling study proposes important new insights into the circuit mechanisms underlying navigational control in insects. High-speed video recordings of ants are compared to detailed predictions from a new computational model, whose description is incomplete. If the model is sound, the similarities between the model and behavioral data suggest how complex behavioral motifs can emerge from a simple neural circuit. These results will be of interest to scientists studying the neural circuit basis of behavior, particularly in insects.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Small brown planthopper infestation enhances it reproduction and insecticide tolerance by manipulating glucose distribution and levels in rice

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Hainan Zhang
   2. Qi Zhang
   3. Huichen Ge
   4. Jiaping Wei
   5. Kun Qian
   6. Xiaolong Liu
   7. Hai Li
   8. Jianjun Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study investigates how infestation by the small brown planthopper (Laodelphax striatellus) reshapes rice carbohydrate allocation and demonstrates that host-derived glucose enhances insect fecundity and imidacloprid tolerance, through the activation of conserved nutrient-sensing and endocrine pathways. Across extensive and complementary approaches, including plant manipulations, glucose supplementation, RNAi, pharmacological inhibition, rescue experiments, and biochemical assays, the authors provide convincing evidence that glucose activates the TOR-juvenile hormone-vitellogenin axis to promote reproduction and co-regulates GST-mediated detoxification via both TOR-JH signaling and GCL-GSH metabolism. The mechanistic framework is coherent and well supported by hierarchical validation and functional assays. Some limitations remain regarding the generality of the findings across other pest species and insecticides, and aspects of the evolutionary framing would benefit from more cautious interpretation; nonetheless, the work substantially advances our understanding of how plant-derived nutrients interface with conserved insect signaling pathways to shape fitness-related traits, and will be of broad interest to researchers studying plant-insect interactions, insect physiology, and pest management.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. ARID5B mutations cause a neurodevelopmental syndrome with neuroinflammation episodes

   This article has 62 authors:

   1. Hendrikus J. van Heesbeen
   2. Nazim Rabouhi
   3. Aurélie Gouronc
   4. Angéline Preto
   5. Justine Rousseau
   6. Jade Charbonneau
   7. Antonio Vitobello
   8. Ange-Line Bruel
   9. Anne-Sophie Denommé-Pichon
   10. Estelle Colin
   11. Bertrand Isidor
   12. Sophie Nambot
   13. Desiree DeMille
   14. Pinar Bayrak-Toydemir
   15. Nicola Longo
   16. Boris Keren
   17. Alexandra Afenjar
   18. Jolien S. Klein Wassink-Ruiter
   19. Ingrid P.C. Krapels
   20. Hannah Titheradge
   21. Gavin Ryan
   22. Matias Wagner
   23. Jill A. Rosenfeld
   24. David R. Witt
   25. Anirudh Saronwala
   26. Yaping Yang
   27. Annick Rein-Rothschild
   28. Ortal Barel
   29. Reena Jethva
   30. Saskia B. Wortmann
   31. Katharina Diepold
   32. Kevin Rostasy
   33. Lola K. Clarkson
   34. Kathryn T. Drazba
   35. Raymond J. Louie
   36. Himanshu Goel
   37. Outi Kuismin
   38. Pekka Nokelainen
   39. Jianling Ji
   40. Ashley Mills
   41. Matthew A. Deardorff
   42. María Palomares-Bralo
   43. María-Ángeles Gómez-Cano
   44. Alberto Fernández-Jaén
   45. Peter J. Hulick
   46. Maureen Jacob
   47. Benjamin Cogne
   48. Kandamurugu Manickam
   49. Xueqi Wang
   50. Gail Graham
   51. Bert Callewaert
   52. Mercedes Zoeteman
   53. Michael L. Raff
   54. Marion Aubert Mucca
   55. Médéric Jeanne
   56. Grace Raines
   57. Amy Crunk
   58. Sureni V Mullegama
   59. Taila Hartley
   60. Kristin Kernohan
   61. Kym Boycott
   62. Philippe M. Campeau

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study identifies a novel neurodevelopmental syndrome caused by variants in ARID5B, supported by solid human genetic evidence from a well-characterized cohort. While the clinical data establish a clear genotype-phenotype correlation, the functional evidence regarding the proposed molecular mechanisms remains incomplete. Addressing the gaps in the functional characterization and refining the clinical assertions would significantly strengthen the conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Dual Inhibition of MYRF Cleavage by Its JM Region and PAN-1 CCT Gates Developmental Timing in C. elegans

    This article has 9 authors:

    1. Zhimin Xu
    2. Xiaoting Feng
    3. Haochen Lyu
    4. Yong-Hong Yan
    5. Yongqi Zhou
    6. Zhizhi Wang
    7. Fang Bai
    8. Meng-Qiu Dong
    9. Yingchuan B Qi

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This important study advances our understanding of developmental timing mechanisms by studying the cleavage, nuclear translocation, and oscillation of the transcription factor MYRF-1 (vertebrate MYRF) during C. elegans larval development. The evidence supporting the conclusions is solid, with elegant genome engineering experiments and state-of-the-art microscopy. The work will be of broad interest to cell and developmental biologists.

    Reviewed by eLife