eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Serial Dependence Predicts Generalization in Perceptual Learning

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Noga Pinchuk-Yacobi
   2. Dov Sagi
   3. Yoram S Bonneh

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This fundamental study describes long-range serial dependence of performance on a visual texture discrimination training task that manipulated conditions to induce differing degrees of location transfer of learning. The authors re-analyzed previously-published, behavioral data, generating compelling evidence from converging approaches that the serial dependence effects persist over multiple days of training, and may share a common causal mechanism with training-induced location transfer. By informing our understanding of the importance of temporal integration to long-term perceptual learning and its propensity towards specificity or generalizability, these results should interest neuroscientists who seek to uncover underlying neural mechanisms for these processes.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Functional imaging of nine distinct neuronal populations under a miniscope in freely behaving animals

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Mary L Phillips
   2. Nicolai T Urban
   3. Taddeo Salemi
   4. Zhe Dong
   5. Ryohei Yasuda

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The new development of Neuroplex, a pipeline that links projection-defined neuronal identity to in vivo calcium activity within the same animal, is an important contribution to the field of neuroscience and beyond. The strength of evidence is convincing.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Dynamic brain states during encoding and their post-encoding reinstatement predicts episodic memory in children

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Yimeng Zeng
   2. Sandhya P Chakravartti
   3. Srikanth Ryali
   4. Shaozheng Qin
   5. Vinod Menon

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     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.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Working Memory Guides Perceptual Decisions Through Fast Capture and Slow Drift

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Hyung-Bum Park
   2. Weiwei Zhang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides important insights into how working memory shapes perceptual decisions, using a dual-task design, continuous mouse tracking, and hierarchical Bayesian modeling. By dissociating fast attentional capture effects from slower, sustained perceptual biases within single trials, the authors provide compelling evidence that working memory-perception interactions unfold through distinct dynamic processes rather than a single mechanism. This work will be of interest to researchers studying working memory, perception, decision-making, and mouse-tracking methodology.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Autosomal Allelic Inactivation: Variable Replication and Dosage Sensitivity

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Michael B Heskett
   2. Athanasios E Vouzas
   3. Brian Johnstone
   4. Krister P Freese
   5. Phillip A Yates
   6. Philip F Copenhaver
   7. Paul T Spellman
   8. David M Gilbert
   9. Mathew J Thayer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study links allelic expression imbalance with replication timing, suggesting a stochastic model for haploinsufficiency in dosage-sensitive disease. The integration of allele-specific RNA-seq and replication timing in clonal systems provides solid evidence for an association between asynchronous replication and allelic imbalance, although the scope and generality should be addressed in future work. This study will interest epigeneticists and genome regulation researchers studying replication timing and monoallelic expression, as well as developmental biologists and human geneticists concerned with clonal heterogeneity, haploinsufficiency, and variable disease penetrance.

     [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

   Reviewed by eLife

6. The transcription factor BCL11A restores differentiation potential to aged oligodendrocyte progenitor cells

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Tanay Ghosh
   2. Roey Baror
   3. Chao Zhao
   4. Amar Sharma
   5. Nick Goldman
   6. Robin JM Franklin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study demonstrates molecular changes associated with age related impairment in oligodendrocyte differentiation and ability to myelinate. The identification of particular genes that are associated with this decline will provide potential future targets for therapeutic interventions. The reviewers felt that the quality of the evidence was solid while identifying some minor weaknesses that if addressed would enhance the rigor of the study.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Structural basis for the folding of PINK1 by the HSP90–CDC37 chaperone complex

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Kei Okatsu
   2. Hayato Yamamoto
   3. Akinori Okamoto
   4. Shinya H Goto
   5. Yumiko Nishimoto
   6. Yukihiko Sugita
   7. Takeshi Noda
   8. Shuya Fukai

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a high-quality cryo-EM structure of the human kinase PINK1 in complex with the HSP90-CDC37 chaperone complex, capturing a partially folded intermediate in which the C-lobe and C-terminal extension are structured while the N-lobe remains unfolded and engaged by the HSP90 clamp. The structural data are broadly consistent with a recently published structure of the same complex, providing useful insight into early steps of PINK1 maturation and highlighting residues linked to familial Parkinson's disease. However, the mechanistic conclusions remain incomplete because the manuscript does not experimentally validate key hypotheses raised by the structure, including the functional roles of the C-lobe interface, the HPNI motif, the C-terminal extension, or the proposed competition between HSP90 and TOM20.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. RNA Selectively Modulates Activity of Virulent Amyloid PSMα3 and Host Defense LL-37 via Phase Separation and Aggregation Dynamics

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Bader Rayan
   2. Eilon Barnea
   3. Rinat Indig
   4. Christian F Pantoja
   5. Jesse Gayk
   6. Yael Lupu-Haber
   7. Alexander Upcher
   8. Amir Argoetti
   9. Jacob Aunstrup Larsen
   10. Alexander K Buell
   11. Markus Zweckstetter
   12. Meytal Landau

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents valuable findings on the differential effects of RNA on the phase separation, aggregation dynamics, and bioactivity of PSMα3 and LL-37. The authors provide solid evidence from complementary biophysical and cell-based experiments that RNA influences peptide assembly and associated in vitro activities. The study is of interest for understanding interactions between amyloidogenic peptides and nucleic acids.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Tau hyperphosphorylation impairs cooperative binding to microtubules and perturbs organelle trafficking in neurons

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Daniel Beaudet
   2. Christopher L Berger
   3. Adam G Hendricks

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In their valuable study, Beaudet, Berger and Hendricks provide a mechanistic link between disease-associated tau hyperphosphorylation, loss of cooperative tau envelope formation on microtubules, and dysregulation of axonal transport prior to aggregation. Using complementary in vitro reconstitution and human iPSC-derived neuronal assays with phosphodeficient and phosphomimetic tau constructs targeting 14 disease-relevant sites, the authors convincingly show that phosphorylation state alters tau organization on microtubules and differentially impacts kinesin- and lysosome-based transport. The evidence is solid and well aligned with the conclusions, yet the work could be further strengthened by incorporating additional controls and motor-specific assays to refine the mechanistic depth.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Ventral Hippocampal Temporoammonic and Schaffer Collateral Pathways Differentially Control Fear- and Anxiety-Related Behaviors

    This article has 6 authors:

    1. Maltesh Kambali
    2. Muxiao Wang
    3. Rajasekar Nagarajan
    4. Jinrui Lyu
    5. Howard Gritton
    6. Uwe Rudolph

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      Kambali et al use optogenetic manipulations to examine whether the ventral hippocampal Schaffer collateral (vCA3-to-vCA1) and temporoammonic (EC-to-vCA1) pathways regulate anxiety- and fear-related behaviors in mice. They find that both pathways regulate the expression of fear (freezing) responses to a context and auditory conditioned stimulus paired with foot shock (trace conditioning protocol), but only the Schaffer collateral pathway regulates the expression of anxiety-related behaviors in the elevated plus maze, open field test, and Vogel conflict test. Overall, the study is valuable: it detects bidirectional effects of optogenetic excitation and inhibition in both pathways. However, the strength of the evidence in support of its main claims is incomplete.

    Reviewed by eLife