eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Training neural networks from scratch in a videogame leads to brittle brain encoding

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. François Paugam
   2. Basile Pinsard
   3. Marie St-Laurent
   4. Guillaume Lajoie
   5. Lune Bellec

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is a valuable paper that compares various deep learning models, trained with different objective functions, on their ability to predict fMRI data collected during naturalistic video gameplay. The data and analysis provide solid within-distribution evidence that models trained with PPO and imitation learning outperform untrained models and standard convolutional networks. However, the evidence for brittleness in out-of-distribution encoding remains incomplete, as the claim that this stems from the networks' training rather than from alternative causes-like overfitting of ridge regression parameters-is not yet fully supported.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Intracellular growth of Chlamydia trachomatis leads to global histone hypermethylation by impairing demethylation

   This article has 20 authors:

   1. Chloé I Charendoff
   2. Félix V Louchez
   3. Yongzheng Wu
   4. Lee Dolat
   5. Guillaume Velasco
   6. Stéphanie Perrinet
   7. Adrian Gabriel Torres
   8. Laure Blanchet
   9. Magalie Duchateau
   10. Quentin Giai Gianetto
   11. Mariette Matondo
   12. Laurence Del Maestro
   13. Slimane Ait-Si-Ali
   14. Frédéric Bonhomme
   15. Gaël A Millot
   16. Vannary Meas-Yedid
   17. Lluís Ribas de Pouplana
   18. Elisabeth D Martinez
   19. Raphael H Valdivia
   20. Agathe Subtil

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is a valuable study of changes in host genome histone methylation and transcription changes associated with Chlamydia infection. The data presented are solid but further analysis would strengthen the authors overall conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Acyl carrier protein is essential for apicoplast biogenesis in malaria parasites independent of fatty acid synthesis

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Sage WR Geher
   2. Seyi Falekun
   3. Jessica N Pita-Aquino
   4. Russell P Swift
   5. Megan Okada
   6. Yasaman Jami-Alahmadi
   7. James A Wohlschlegel
   8. Sean T Prigge
   9. Paul A Sigala

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study identifies a non-canonical essential role for acyl carrier protein in maintaining apicoplast metabolism and blood-stage survival in Plasmodium falciparum. The main conclusions are compelling, and supported by strong genetic and biochemical evidence, while function of fatty acid synthesis pathways in low-lipid conditions will require future studies to fully resolve. The work provides novel mechanistic insight into ACP-mediated stabilization of pyruvate kinase II and will be of broad interest to the malaria and apicoplast biology communities.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Optical single-channel recording of CRAC channels with HaloTag and a Ca2+-sensitive ligand

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Harsharan Dhillon
   2. Richard S Lewis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a fundamental methodological advance that enables measurements of single-channel gating behavior of CRAC channels whose unitary currents are too small to be resolved electrically. By combining a channel-tethered calcium-sensitive dye (JF646-BAPTA) with voltage-clamp TIRF imaging, the authors discovered new kinetic behaviors of CRAC channels and further identified a dye-blinking artifact with implications that are of importance for optical single-channel studies. Although the work is convincing and the findings have biological relevance, some quantitative aspects of the study can be strengthened by additional analysis.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Layer-specific wide-field calcium imaging of neocortical activity

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Dayra A Lorenzo
   2. Yasir Gallero-Salas
   3. Matteo Panzeri
   4. Anna-Sophia Wahl
   5. Ariel Gilad
   6. Christopher M Lewis
   7. Fritjof Helmchen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study advances methods for improved analyses of wide-field optical imaging of mice expressing the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP6f in different neocortical layers through registering to layer-specific cortical atlases and deconvolution to account for depth-dependent light scattering. However, the key underlying assumption of the work, that widefield signals originate in somata, and not in their superficial axonal and dendritic compartments, remains untested. Similarly, other signal sources like intrinsic optical signals and hemodynamic occlusion are incompletely considered. This study is likely to be of interest to neuroscientists carrying out wide-field optical imaging of the mouse neocortex.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Dominant α-tubulin mutations rescue tauopathy neurodegenerative phenotypes in C. elegans

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Sarah J Benbow
   2. Aleen D Saxton
   3. Misa Baum
   4. Rikki L Uhrich
   5. Jade G Stair
   6. Kelly Keene
   7. Chloe Dahleen
   8. Linda Wordeman
   9. Nicole F Liachko
   10. Rebecca L Kow
   11. Brian C Kraemer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Using a genetic screen in C. elegans, Benbow et al., identify mutations in alpha-tubulin genes that suppress Tau-induced neurodegenerative phenotypes. The results provide solid support the authors' claim that the tubulin mutants protect against neurodegeneration without altering tau aggregation and hyperphosphorylation. While precise mechanisms of protection by tubulin mutants remain to be established, the results are valuable for understanding the underlying cellular mechanisms of Tauopathies and for the development of therapeutic interventions.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Hippocampal neuronal and astrocytic responses to noradrenaline and natural arousal

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Sian N Duss
   2. Maria Wilhelm
   3. Alina-Mariuca Marinescu
   4. Runzhong Zhang
   5. Fritjof Helmchen
   6. Johannes Bohacek
   7. Peter Rupprecht

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work uses a sophisticated combination of neuromodulator imaging, optogenetics, and two-photon calcium imaging to examine how locus coeruleus-mediated norepinephrine signaling influences distinct hippocampal cell types. The evidence is solid and provides novel insights into cell type-specific responses to norepinephrine release. However, the conclusions would be strengthened by a more thorough analysis of the differences between locomotion-associated activity and optogenetic stimulation of the locus coeruleus.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Reduction of complex dynamic touch information to a single stable perceptual feature

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Naghmeh Zamani
   2. Benjamin Stephens-Fripp
   3. Chase Tymms
   4. Sonny Chan
   5. Roham Pardakhtim
   6. Heather Culbertson
   7. Jess Hartcher-O’Brien

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a valuable finding that perception of a material's properties and hardness during brief touches can be altered using only vibrotactile feedback. The user studies show that vibration energy can influence judgements of material hardness, but the evidence is incomplete to support the broader claim made by the authors that spectral energy is the dominant feature governing hardness perception.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Transcriptional profiling of extraocular motor neurons reveals sim1a as a candidate strabismus-related gene

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Emily Gershowitz
   2. Kyla Rose Hamling
   3. Başak Rosti
   4. Hannah Gelnaw
   5. Grace Xiang
   6. Cheryl Quainoo
   7. Dena Goldblatt
   8. Paige Leary
   9. David Schoppik

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study adds important data on the transcriptional identity of the motor neurons innervating eye muscles in larval zebrafish, and shows how disruption to a specific gene, sim1a, impairs the movements of the eye. The evidence supporting the claims is convincing, with bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing as well as functional testing of the vestibulo-ocular reflex. This work will be of interest to developmental biologists and eye movement specialists.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Dopamine ramps as a normative consequence of dual-process control

    This article has 2 authors:

    1. Luke Priestley
    2. Thomas Akam

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This important study developed a novel theory to account for various aspects of dopamine signals, particularly dopamine ramps. The authors propose that dopamine reward prediction error (RPE) signals are generated by a dual-process learning system in which values inferred by a model-based system enter the RPE asymmetrically into the update target but not the prediction. The results are well-presented and convincing, and make a contribution that is of importance to the field. This work will be of interest to those studying dopamine specifically or brain learning computations and systems more broadly.

    Reviewed by eLife