Latest preprint reviews

1. DendroTweaks: An interactive approach for unraveling dendritic dynamics

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Roman Makarov
   2. Spyridon Chavlis
   3. Panayiota Poirazi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Computational simulation of neuron function depends on a collection of morphological properties and ion channel biophysics. This manuscript introduces DendroTweaks, a useful web application and Python library that, compared to existing modeling tools, eases interactive graphical exploration, development, and validation of single-neuron models. The authors provide a convincing demonstration that their software aids with building intuition and rapid prototyping of biophysical models of neurons, which improves the accessibility of dendritic simulation.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. PointTree: Automatic and accurate reconstruction of long-range axonal projections of single-neuron

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Lin Cai
   2. Taiyu Fan
   3. Xuzhong Qu
   4. Ying Zhang
   5. Xianyu Gou
   6. Quanwei Ding
   7. Weihua Feng
   8. Tingting Cao
   9. Xiaohua Lv
   10. Xiuli Liu
   11. Qing Huang
   12. Tingwei Quan
   13. Shaoqun Zeng

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important paper takes a novel approach to the problem of automatically reconstructing long-range axonal projections from stacks of images. The key innovation is to separate the identification of sections of an axon from the statistical rules used to constrain global structure. The authors provide convincing evidence that their method is a significant improvement over existing measures in circumstances where the labelling of axons and dendrites is relatively dense, but the robustness to image noise remains to be tested.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Oxytocin salvages context-specific hyperaltruistic preference through moral framing

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Hong Zhang
   2. Yinmei Ni
   3. Jian Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a valuable finding that altruistic tendency during moral decision-making is context-dependent (present in the gain domain but absent in the loss domain) and its absence in the loss domain can be restored by the neuropeptide oxytocin. However, the evidence supporting this claim is somewhat incomplete and would benefit from better overall framing and clarity on its approaches. Overall, this study will be of interest to social scientists and neuroscientists who work on moral decision-making and oxytocin.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Targeting IRE1α improves insulin sensitivity and thermogenesis and suppresses metabolically active adipose tissue macrophages in obesity

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Dan Wu
   2. Venkateswararao Eeda
   3. Zahra Maria
   4. Komal Rawal
   5. Oana Herlea-Pana
   6. Ram Babu Undi
   7. Hui-Ying Lim
   8. Weidong Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The study presents important findings on inositol-requiring enzyme (IRE1α) inhibition on diet-induced obesity (overnutrition) and insulin resistance where IRE1α inhibition enhances thermogenesis and reduces the metabolically active and M1-like macrophages in adipose tissue. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing but can be enhanced with information/data on the validity, specificity, selectivity, and toxicity of the IRE1α inhibitor and supported with more detail on the mechanisms by which adipose tissue macrophages influence adipocyte metabolism. The work will be of interest to cell biologists and biochemists working in metabolism, insulin resistance, and inflammation.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Hierarchy between forelimb premotor and primary motor cortices and its manifestation in their firing patterns

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Akiko Saiki-Ishikawa
   2. Mark Agrios
   3. Sajishnu Savya
   4. Adam Forrest
   5. Hannah Sroussi
   6. Sarah Hsu
   7. Diya Basrai
   8. Feihong Xu
   9. Andrew Miri

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides important insights into the question of how interacting brain areas produce behaviour during the execution of a skilled multi-directional reaching task. Using a combination of single neuron and neural population analysis, as well as optogenetic stimulation and computational models, the authors provide solid evidence of an asymmetrical influence between mouse premotor and motor cortex during the execution of a well-practiced behaviour. This asymmetry can only be captured by some but not all population analysis methods, which is a key lesson to the field in and of itself. Analyzing how activity that is shared and private to these areas relates to different aspects of movements, and linking the model predictions to the actual data, would further strengthen this work.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Beta Waves in Action: Context-Dependent Modulations of Subthalamo-Cortical Synchronization during Rapid Reversals of Movement Direction

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Lucie Winkler
   2. Markus Butz
   3. Abhinav Sharma
   4. Jan Vesper
   5. Alfons Schnitzler
   6. Petra Fischer
   7. Jan Hirschmann

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study combined whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) and subthalamic (STN) local field potential (LFP) recordings in patients with Parkinson's disease undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery. The paper provides solid evidence that cortical and STN beta oscillations are sensitive to movement context and may play a role in the coordination of movement redirection.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Microglia are Required for Developmental Specification of AgRP Innervation in the Hypothalamus of Offspring Exposed to Maternal High Fat Diet During Lactation

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Haley N Mendoza-Romero
   2. Jessica E Biddinger
   3. Michelle N Bedenbaugh
   4. Richard B Simerly

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The central claim in this valuable manuscript is that microglia in the PVH sculpt the density of AgRP inputs to the PVH in a spatially restricted manner. The anatomical results are solid but the analysis of how microglia activity affects body weight when lactating dams are fed a high-fat diet is incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Increased listening effort and cochlear neural degeneration underlie behavioral deficits in speech perception in noise in normal hearing middle-aged adults

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Maggie E Zink
   2. Leslie Zhen
   3. Jacie R McHaney
   4. Jennifer Klara
   5. Kimberly Yurasits
   6. Victoria Cancel
   7. Olivia Flemm
   8. Claire Mitchell
   9. Jyotishka Datta
   10. Bharath Chandrasekaran
   11. Aravindakshan Parthasarathy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study is part of an ongoing effort to clarify the effects of cochlear neural degeneration on auditory processing in listeners with normal audiograms. Here the authors provide important new data demonstrating associations between cochlear neural degeneration, non-invasive assays of auditory processing, and speech perception. Based on a cross-species comparison, these findings pose compelling evidence that cochlear synaptopathy is associated with a significant part of hearing difficulties in complex environments for some listeners with normal hearing thresholds, such as older individuals.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. From histology to macroscale function in the human amygdala

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Hans Auer
   2. Donna Gift Cabalo
   3. Raul Rodriguez-Cruces
   4. Oualid Benkarim
   5. Casey Paquola
   6. Jordan DeKraker
   7. Yezhou Wang
   8. Sofie Valk
   9. Boris C Bernhardt
   10. Jessica Royer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable contribution combines high-resolution histology with magnetic resonance imaging in a novel way to study the organisation of the human amygdala. The main findings convincingly show the axes of microstructural organisation within the amygdala and how they map onto the functional organisation. Overall, the approach taken in this paper showcases the utility of combining multiple modalities at different spatial scales to help understand brain organisation.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. A General Framework for Characterizing Optimal Communication in Brain Networks

    This article has 8 authors:

    1. Kayson Fakhar
    2. Fatemeh Hadaeghi
    3. Caio Seguin
    4. Shrey Dixit
    5. Arnaud Messé
    6. Gorka Zamora-López
    7. Bratislav Misic
    8. Claus C Hilgetag

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      The focus of this study is the development of a compelling method for analyzing network communication in the brain through an exhaustive computational analysis of virtual lesions. Using human neuroimaging data, the authors identified brain regions that exert the greatest influence over others. These important results revealed the characteristic connectivity profile of such brain regions and provided a network analysis method that will find applicability beyond the datasets used.

    Reviewed by eLife