eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Inferring causal connectivity from pairwise recordings and optogenetics

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Mikkel Elle Lepperød
   2. Tristan Stöber
   3. Torkel Hafting
   4. Marianne Fyhn
   5. Konrad Paul Kording

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This useful study adapts methods from causal inference to develop analytical tools for determining the causal influence of single cells on downstream neurons. The simulation evidence is solid, suggesting that these causal methods produce better estimates under biologically-relevant confounds given enough data, although the practical application of the method and the biophysics it relies on is unclear. Nonetheless, this application of causal methods developed in econometrics and other fields could suggest new ways to think about largely observational datasets in neuroscience.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Interplay between VSD, pore, and membrane lipids in electromechanical coupling in HCN channels

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Ahmad Elbahnsi
   2. John Cowgill
   3. Verena Burtscher
   4. Linda Wedemann
   5. Luise Zeckey
   6. Baron Chanda
   7. Lucie Delemotte

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Hyperpolarised-activated and Cyclic Nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels are the only mammalian channels to open under hyperpolarisation, being important for their roles in cardiac and neuronal cells. The authors of this study use atomistic simulations to enforce changing interaction distances that have been identified from a cryoEM structure and a homology model based on the hERG channel. The simulations suggest state-dependent interactions involving pore and voltage sensor helices, as well as with lipids, leading the authors to propose a domino-like mechanism of activation. These findings will be of considerable interest to the ion channel community.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Local angiogenic interplay of Vegfc/d and Vegfa controls brain region-specific emergence of fenestrated capillaries

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Sweta Parab
   2. Olivia A Card
   3. Qiyu Chen
   4. Michelle America
   5. Luke D Buck
   6. Rachael E Quick
   7. William F Horrigan
   8. Gil Levkowitz
   9. Benoit Vanhollebeke
   10. Ryota L Matsuoka

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is a comprehensive approach to understanding the genetic requirements of the VEGF family in the generation of brain capillary structure in zebrafish. The manuscript combines vascular brain/meningeal anatomy revealed with a variety of reporter lines, with mutants for Wnt/β-catenin signaling and angiogenic cues. In particular revealing genetic redundancy in VEGF receptor family in an essential function in vasculature development.

     This paper is significant because it provides compelling evidence that features methods, data, and analyses more rigorous than the current state-of-the-art in analysis of brain vasculature development. The data derived from the reporter lines are convincing, and the germline mutations allow for solid visualization and quantification of results.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Transcriptional cartography integrates multiscale biology of the human cortex

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Konrad Wagstyl
   2. Sophie Adler
   3. Jakob Seidlitz
   4. Simon Vandekar
   5. Travis T Mallard
   6. Richard Dear
   7. Alex R DeCasien
   8. Theodore D Satterthwaite
   9. Siyuan Liu
   10. Petra E Vértes
   11. Russell T Shinohara
   12. Aaron Alexander-Bloch
   13. Daniel H Geschwind
   14. Armin Raznahan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides continuous maps of human brain gene expression and explores their relationship with a large variety of microscopic and macroscopic aspects of brain organisation. The authors provide convincing evidence for a relationship between gene expression maps with various aspects of the anatomy of adult brains, during development, and in the case of mental disorders. The data and methods introduced can be an important tool for neuroimaging research.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Inhibitory CCK+ basket synapse defects in mouse models of dystroglycanopathy

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Jennifer N Jahncke
   2. Daniel S Miller
   3. Milana Krush
   4. Eric Schnell
   5. Kevin M Wright

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     These important findings will be of interest for the study of dystroglycanopathies and in the general area of axon migration and synapse formation. This work provides convincing conclusions about how a range of dystroglycan mutations alter CCK interneuron axonal targeting and synaptic connectivity in the forebrain, and seizure susceptibility.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Firing rate adaptation affords place cell theta sweeps, phase precession, and procession

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Tianhao Chu
   2. Zilong Ji
   3. Junfeng Zuo
   4. Yuanyuan Mi
   5. Wen-hao Zhang
   6. Tiejun Huang
   7. Daniel Bush
   8. Neil Burgess
   9. Si Wu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides valuable new insights on how a prevailing model of hippocampal sequence formation can account for recent data, including forward and backward sweeps, as well as constant cycling of sweeps across different arms of a T-maze. The convincing evidence presented in support of this work relies on classical analytical and computational techniques about continuous attractor networks.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Cerebellar Activation Bidirectionally Regulates Nucleus Accumbens Core and Medial Shell

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Alexa F. D’Ambra
   2. Ksenia Vlasov
   3. Se Jung Jung
   4. Swetha Ganesan
   5. Evan G. Antzoulatos
   6. Diasynou Fioravante

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The study expands our understanding of the neural circuitry downstream of the cerebellum by describing pathways between the deep cerebellar nuclei and the nucleus accumbens. The authors use a combination of in vivo electrophysiology, electrical and optogenetic stimulation, and both anterograde and retrograde tracing to demonstrate two functional neural pathways. The experiments convincingly support the claims. The finding extends previous investigations about the connections between these two brain areas, and are important for elucidating the role of the cerebellum in influencing functions supported by the nucleus accumbens, such as motivation and reward.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. A theory of hippocampal theta correlations accounting for extrinsic and intrinsic sequences

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Yuk-Hoi Yiu
   2. Christian Leibold

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important work presents an interesting perspective for the generation and interpretation of phase precession in the hippocampal formation. Through numerical simulations and comparison to experiments, the study provides a convincing theoretical framework explaining the segregation of sequences reflecting navigation and sequences reflecting internal dynamics in the DG-CA3 loop. This study will be of interest for researchers in the spatial navigation and computational neuroscience fields.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Parallel reconstruction of the excitatory and inhibitory inputs received by single neurons reveals the synaptic basis of recurrent spiking

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Julian Bartram
   2. Felix Franke
   3. Sreedhar Saseendran Kumar
   4. Alessio Paolo Buccino
   5. Xiaohan Xue
   6. Tobias Gänswein
   7. Manuel Schröter
   8. Taehoon Kim
   9. Krishna Chaitanya Kasuba
   10. Andreas Hierlemann

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study makes an important effort to observe and quantify synaptic integration in a large and active network of cultured neurons, using simultaneous patch-clamp and large-scale extracellular recordings. They developed a method to distinguish excitatory and inhibitory contributions, show compelling evidence that the subthreshold activity of these neurons is dominated by few presynaptic neurons. They provide convincing statistics about connectivity and network dynamics.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Genetic and dietary modulators of the inflammatory response in the gastrointestinal tract of the BXD mouse genetic reference population

    This article has 12 authors:

    1. Xiaoxu Li
    2. Jean-David Morel
    3. Giorgia Benegiamo
    4. Johanne Poisson
    5. Alexis Bachmann
    6. Alexis Rapin
    7. Jonathan Sulc
    8. Evan Williams
    9. Alessia Perino
    10. Kristina Schoonjans
    11. Maroun Bou Sleiman
    12. Johan Auwerx

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This fundamental study provides a framework for leveraging systems genetics data to dissect mechanisms of gut physiology. The authors provide compelling analyses to highlight diverse modes of interrogating intestinal inflammation, dietary response, and consequent impacts on inflammatory bowel disease. As a resource, it will have great utility for linking genetic variation and diet to gut-related pathophysiologies.

    Reviewed by eLife