eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Hippocampus and striatum show distinct contributions to longitudinal changes in value-based learning in middle childhood

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Johannes Falck
   2. Lei Zhang
   3. Laurel Raffington
   4. Johannes Julius Mohn
   5. Jochen Triesch
   6. Christine Heim
   7. Yee Lee Shing

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this work, the authors make a valuable contribution based on convincing evidence that children 6-to-7-years-old improve in 2 years of development towards utilising more optimal value-based decision-making strategies while performing a reinforcement learning task. They found that delayed feedback learning was associated with volume in the hippocampus while immediate feedback learning was not. Striatal volume was associated with both forms of learning, in contrast to prior research funding in adults. Brain-behaviour correlations were stable across the 2-year period, despite the hippocampus increasing in volume and striatal volume remaining stable.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Sex differences in BNST signaling and BNST CRF in fear processing

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Olivia J Hon
   2. Sofia Neira
   3. Meghan E Flanigan
   4. Alison V Roland
   5. Christina M Caira
   6. Tori Sides
   7. Shannon L D'Ambrosio
   8. Sophia I Lee
   9. Yolanda Simpson
   10. Michelle C Buccini
   11. Samantha Machinski
   12. Waylin Yu
   13. Kristen M Boyt
   14. Thomas L Kash

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study advances understanding of how corticotrophin releasing factor in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates sustained and phasic fear and how this differs between sexes. The evidence is convincing and based on state-of-the-art techniques. The work will be of interest to neuroscientists studying the biological basis of fear processing.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. The title and authors for this article are not available from our external data provider yet:
   10.48550/arxiv.2212.01191

4. Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia integrate into mouse retina and recapitulate features of endogenous microglia

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Wenxin Ma
   2. Lian Zhao
   3. Biying Xu
   4. Robert N Fariss
   5. T Michael Redmond
   6. Jizhong Zou
   7. Wai T Wong
   8. Wei Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors have improved a method to differentiate human iPSC-derived microglial cells with immune responses and phagocytic abilities; and through transplantation into the adult mouse retina, the authors further demonstrated their integration and occupation of native microglial cell space, and functional response to retinal injuries. The study is important and the data are convincing for potential microglial replacement therapy to treat retinal and CNS diseases.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Smith–Magenis syndrome protein RAI1 regulates body weight homeostasis through hypothalamic BDNF-producing neurons and neurotrophin downstream signalling

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Sehrish Javed
   2. Ya-Ting Chang
   3. Yoobin Cho
   4. Yu-Ju Lee
   5. Hao-Cheng Chang
   6. Minza Haque
   7. Yu Cheng Lin
   8. Wei-Hsiang Huang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study informs whether diminishing BDNF expression or alterations in the activity of BDNF-containing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus contributes to metabolic alterations in individuals with reduced RAI1 function, including those afflicted with Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS). The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling in that RAI1 deficits in BDNF-containing neurons partly contribute, with prominent effects on glycemic control and modest effects on feeding and body weight regulation. This study would be of interest to neuroscientists and medical biologists working on metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes, as the findings in this study further links SMS-associated obesity with reduced Bdnf gene expression in the PVH and shed light on the role of the Rai1 gene in the PVH Bdnf neurons and offer a basis for future therapeutic strategies for managing obesity in SMS.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Midbrain encodes sound detection behavior without auditory cortex

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Tai-Ying Lee
   2. Yves Weissenberger
   3. Andrew J King
   4. Johannes C Dahmen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study demonstrates that neurons receiving inputs from auditory cortex in the inferior colliculus widely encode the outcome of a sound detection task independant of the presence of auditory cortex. This valuable study based on imaging of transynaptically labelled neurons provides convincing evidence that auditory cortex is necessary neither for sound detection, nor to channel information related to behavioral outcome to the subcortical auditory system. This study will be of wide interest for sensory neuroscientists.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. The title and authors for this article are not available from our external data provider yet:
   10.48550/arxiv.2305.18417

8. A neuronal least-action principle for real-time learning in cortical circuits

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Walter Senn
   2. Dominik Dold
   3. Akos F Kungl
   4. Benjamin Ellenberger
   5. Jakob Jordan
   6. Yoshua Bengio
   7. João Sacramento
   8. Mihai A Petrovici

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript describes a potentially important theoretical framework to link predictive coding, error-based learning, and neuronal dynamics. The provided evidence is solid, but some details would benefit from additional clarification. The exposition of the manuscript is targeted for a specialist audience.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. An optogenetic cell therapy to restore control of target muscles in an aggressive mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. J Barney Bryson
   2. Alexandra Kourgiantaki
   3. Dai Jiang
   4. Andreas Demosthenous
   5. Linda Greensmith

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This fundamental study presents a method to restore muscle innervations in ALS mouse models using optogenetics. It is convincing that embryonic stem cell derived motor neurons can be transplanted into and applied to reinnervate the muscles in an ALS mouse model. The work will be of broad interest to researchers and medical biologists to develop new strategies for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders resulting from denervated skeletal muscles.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Evolution and diversity of biomineralized columnar architecture in early Cambrian phosphatic-shelled brachiopods

    This article has 6 authors:

    1. Zhiliang Zhang
    2. Zhifei Zhang
    3. Lars Holmer
    4. Timothy P Topper
    5. Bing Pan
    6. Guoxiang Li

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This valuable study examines the evolution of the pillars in the shell architecture of organo-phosphatic brachiopods. The phylogenetic implications of this shell structure in relation to other early Cambrian brachiopod families are interpreted based on solid evidence. As such, this paper with interesting ideas regarding the evolution of brachiopod shell structure contributes to our understanding of the ecology and evolution of brachiopods as a whole.

    Reviewed by eLife