The Third Reviewer

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Christou, E. A., Neto, . . . → Read More: Reply to Boonstra: The Nature of Periodic Input to the Muscle

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Boonstra, . . . → Read More: The Nature of Periodic Input to the Muscles

Simultaneous behavior and multielectrode neural recordings in freely behaving rodents holds great promise to study the neural bases of behavior and disease models in combination with genetic manipulations. Here, we introduce the use of three-axis acce… . . . → Read More: Investigating Neural Correlates of Behavior in Freely Behaving Rodents Using Inertial Sensors

Here we report on the development of a novel neuroelectronic interface consisting of an array of noninvasive gold-mushroom-shaped microelectrodes (gMµEs) that practically provide intracellular recordings and stimulation of many individual neuron… . . . → Read More: Long-Term, Multisite, Parallel, In-Cell Recording and Stimulation by an Array of Extracellular Microelectrodes

Neurons have been recorded that reflect in their firing rates the confidence in a decision. Here we show how this could arise as an emergent property in an integrate-and-fire attractor network model of decision making. The attractor network has popula… . . . → Read More: Confidence-Related Decision Making

A consistent organizational feature of auditory cortex is a clustered representation of binaural properties. Here we address two questions. What is the intrinsic organization of binaural clusters and to what extent does intracortical processing contri… . . . → Read More: GABA Shapes a Systematic Map of Binaural Sensitivity in the Auditory Cortex

The coherence between oscillatory activity in local field potentials (LFPs) and single neuron action potentials, or spikes, has been suggested as a neural substrate for the representation of information. The power spectrum of a spike-triggered average… . . . → Read More: Correcting the Bias of Spike Field Coherence Estimators Due to a Finite Number of Spikes

Taste cells use multiple signaling mechanisms to generate appropriate cellular responses to discrete taste stimuli. Some taste stimuli activate G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) that cause calcium release from intracellular stores while other stimul… . . . → Read More: Sodium/Calcium Exchangers Selectively Regulate Calcium Signaling in Mouse Taste Receptor Cells

It has been suggested that the kinematics of a reach–to–grasp movement, performed within an action sequence, vary depending on the action goal and the properties of subsequent movement segments (action context effect). The aim of this stud… . . . → Read More: Advance Planning in Sequential Pick-and-Place Tasks

Amblyopia or lazy eye is the most common cause of uniocular blindness in adults and is caused by a disruption to normal visual development as a consequence of unmatched inputs from the two eyes in early life, arising from a turned eye (strabismus), un… . . . → Read More: The Amblyopic Deficit and Its Relationship to Geniculo-Cortical Processing Streams

Mormyrid weakly electric fish actively sense their surroundings by continuously emitting discrete pulses of electricity separated by varying intervals of silence. The temporal pattern of this pulsing behavior is related to context. While resting in th… . . . → Read More: Temporal Selectivity in Midbrain Electrosensory Neurons Identified by Modal Variation in Active Sensing

Directional selectivity, in which neurons respond preferentially to one “preferred” direction of movement over the opposite “null” direction, is a critical computation that is found in the central nervous systems of many animals. Such responses are ge… . . . → Read More: Subthreshold Membrane Conductances Enhance Directional Selectivity in Vertebrate Sensory Neurons

Analysis of local field potentials (LFPs) helps understand the function of the converging neuronal populations that produce the mixed synaptic activity in principal cells. Recently, using independent component analysis (ICA), we resolved ongoing hippo… . . . → Read More: Minor Contribution of Principal Excitatory Pathways to Hippocampal LFPs in the Anesthetized Rat: A Combined Independent Component and Current Source Density Study

The pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) is involved in the activated states of waking and paradoxical sleep, forming part of the reticular activating system (RAS). The studies described tested the hypothesis that single unit and/or population responses of … . . . → Read More: Gamma Band Unit Activity and Population Responses in the Pedunculopontine Nucleus

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) form covalently linked homodimers and contain large, N-terminal extracellular ligand binding, “venus fly trap” (VFT) domains. These domains, when expressed separately, are secreted as disulfide linked dimers a… . . . → Read More: Venus Fly Trap Domain of mGluR1 Functions as a Dominant Negative Against Group I mGluR Signaling

Attempts have been made in various studies to identify and trace changes in function in the aging visual system. Some results are conflicting and we report here a unique approach in an attempt to resolve selected issues. We have estimated neurometabol… . . . → Read More: Neurometabolic Coupling in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus Changes With Extended Age

Studies on generalization show the nature of how learning is encoded in the brain. Previous studies have shown rather limited generalization of dynamics learning across changes in movement direction, a finding that is consistent with the idea that lea… . . . → Read More: Generalization of Dynamics Learning Across Changes in Movement Amplitude

Dopaminergic neurons are subject to a significant background GABAergic input in vivo. The presence of this GABAergic background might be expected to inhibit dopaminergic neuron firing. However, dopaminergic neurons are not all silent but instead fire … . . . → Read More: A Dynamic Role for GABA Receptors on the Firing Pattern of Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons

Mutations in genes expressed in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) underlie a number of human inherited retinal disorders that manifest with photoreceptor degeneration. Because light-evoked responses of the RPE are generated secondary to rod photore… . . . → Read More: Light-Evoked Responses of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium: Changes Accompanying Photoreceptor Loss in the Mouse

Itching is a common symptom in dermatologic diseases and causes restless scratching of the skin, which aggravates the condition. The mechanism of the itch sensation, however, is enigmatic. The present study included behavioral tests and electrophysiol… . . . → Read More: Responsiveness of C Neurons in Rat Dorsal Root Ganglion to 5-Hydroxytryptamine-Induced Pruritic Stimuli In Vivo

Familial hemiplegic migraine type-1 FHM-1 is caused by missense mutations in the CACNA1A gene that encodes the 1A pore-forming subunit of CaV2.1 Ca2+ channels. We used knock-in (KI) transgenic mice harboring the pathogenic FHM-1 mutation R192Q to stud… . . . → Read More: Gain of Function in FHM-1 Cav2.1 Knock-In Mice Is Related to the Shape of the Action Potential

In vitro whole cell patch-clamp recordings of stellate cells in layer II of medial entorhinal cortex show a subthreshold membrane potential resonance in response to a sinusoidal current injection of varying frequency. Physiological recordings from awa… . . . → Read More: Cholinergic Modulation of the Resonance Properties of Stellate Cells in Layer II of Medial Entorhinal Cortex

Partially isolated “undercut” neocortex with intact pial circulation is a well-established model of posttraumatic epileptogenesis. Results of previous experiments showed a decreased frequency of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) in l… . . . → Read More: Presynaptic Inhibitory Terminals Are Functionally Abnormal in a Rat Model of Posttraumatic Epilepsy

In freely moving rats that are actively performing a discrimination task, single-unit responses in primary somatosensory cortex (S1) are strikingly different from responses to comparable tactile stimuli in immobile rats. For example, in the active dis… . . . → Read More: Changes in S1 Neural Responses During Tactile Discrimination Learning

Although the right fusiform face area (FFA) is often linked to holistic processing, new data suggest this region also encodes part-based face representations. We examined this question by assessing the metric of neural similarity for faces using a con… . . . → Read More: Neural Tuning for Face Wholes and Parts in Human Fusiform Gyrus Revealed by fMRI Adaptation

The possibility that we will have to invest effort influences our future choice behavior. Indeed deciding whether an action is actually worth taking is a key element in the expression of human apathy or inertia. There is a well developed literature on… . . . → Read More: Choosing to Make an Effort: The Role of Striatum in Signaling Physical Effort of a Chosen Action

Hyperpolarization-activated inward current (Ih) has been shown to be involved in production of bursting during various forms of rhythmic activity. However, details of Ih in spinal interneurons related to locomotion remain unknown. Using Cfos-EGFP tran… . . . → Read More: Multiple Effects of Serotonin and Acetylcholine on Hyperpolarization-Activated Inward Current in Locomotor Activity-Related Neurons in Cfos-EGFP Mice

A set of brain regions known as the default network increases its activity when focus on the external world is relaxed. During such moments, participants change their focus of external attention and engage in spontaneous cognitive processes including … . . . → Read More: Evidence for the Default Network’s Role in Spontaneous Cognition

Young adult heterozygous Lurcher mice constitute an excellent model for studying the role of the cerebellar cortex in motor performance—including the acquisition of new motor abilities—because of the early postnatal degeneration of almost … . . . → Read More: Behavioral Characteristics, Associative Learning Capabilities, and Dynamic Association Mapping in an Animal Model of Cerebellar Degeneration

Many real life tasks that require impedance control to minimize motion error are characterized by multiple solutions where the task can be performed either by co-contracting muscle groups, which requires a large effort, or, conversely, by relaxing mus… . . . → Read More: Motor Memory and Local Minimization of Error and Effort, Not Global Optimization, Determine Motor Behavior

Psychophysical studies show a slower response to changes in the specifically binaural input than to changes in the monaural input (binaural sluggishness). However, there is disagreement about the time course. Tracking changes in a target yields fast t… . . . → Read More: The Time Course of Binaural Masking in the Inferior Colliculus of Guinea Pig Does Not Account for Binaural Sluggishness

Appropriate interlimb coordination of the lower extremities is particularly important for a variety of functional human motor behaviors such as jumping, kicking a ball, or simply walking. Specific interlimb coordination patterns may be especially impa… . . . → Read More: Impaired Interlimb Coordination of Voluntary Leg Movements in Poststroke Hemiparesis

The functional coupling of neural circuits between the upper and lower limbs involving rhythmic movements is of interest to both motor control research and rehabilitation science. This coupling can be detected by examining the effect of remote rhythmi… . . . → Read More: Effects of Leg Pedaling on Early Latency Cutaneous Reflexes in Upper Limb Muscles

Many studies have documented the involvement of medial superior temporal extrastriate area (MST) in the perception of heading based on optic flow information. Furthermore, both heading perception and the responses of MST neurons are relatively stable … . . . → Read More: Extrastriate Area MST and Parietal Area VIP Similarly Represent Forward Headings

Recent biochemical and behavioral data implicate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in peripheral and spinal pain mechanisms. However, pain-related functions of ROS in the brain and mechanisms of pain-related ROS activation remain to be determined. Our pre… . . . → Read More: Reactive Oxygen Species Are Involved in Group I mGluR-Mediated Facilitation of Nociceptive Processing in Amygdala Neurons

Normal gait is characterized by a phase-dependent modulation of cutaneous reflexes. The role of the basal ganglia in regulating these reflexes is largely unknown. Therefore cutaneous reflex responses from the skin of the foot were studied during walki… . . . → Read More: Modulation of Cutaneous Reflexes From the Foot During Gait in Parkinson’s Disease

To clarify the role of presynaptic L-type Ca2+ channels in GABA-mediated transmission in the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN), spontaneous, miniature, and impulse-evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs, mIPSCs, and eIPSCs, respectively) were rec… . . . → Read More: Differential Control of Spontaneous and Evoked GABA Release by Presynaptic L-Type Ca2+ Channels in the Rat Medial Preoptic Nucleus

Sleep spindles are ~1 s bursts of 10–16 Hz activity that occur during stage 2 sleep. Spindles are highly synchronous across the cortex and thalamus in animals, and across the scalp in humans, implying correspondingly widespread and synchronized … . . . → Read More: Magnetoencephalography Demonstrates Multiple Asynchronous Generators During Human Sleep Spindles

It is well established that the optic tectum (or its mammalian homologue, the superior colliculus) is involved in directing gaze toward salient stimuli. However, salient stimuli typically induce orienting responses beyond gaze shifts. The role of the … . . . → Read More: Multiple Manifestations of Microstimulation in the Optic Tectum: Eye Movements, Pupil Dilations, and Sensory Priming

Understanding actions of conspecifics is a fundamental social ability depending largely on the activation of a parieto-frontal network. Using functional MRI (fMRI), we studied how goal-directed movements (i.e., motor acts) performed by others are code… . . . → Read More: Coding Observed Motor Acts: Different Organizational Principles in the Parietal and Premotor Cortex of Humans

Although cortical activation to binocular disparity can be demonstrated throughout occipital and parietal cortices, the relative contributions to depth perception made by different human cortical areas have not been established. To investigate whether… . . . → Read More: Neural Modulation by Binocular Disparity Greatest in Human Dorsal Visual Stream

Neurons in several areas of monkey frontal cortex exhibit ordinal position (rank) selectivity during the performance of serial order tasks. It has been unclear whether rank selectivity or the dependence of rank selectivity on task context varies acros… . . . → Read More: Rank Signals in Four Areas of Macaque Frontal Cortex During Selection of Actions and Objects in Serial Order

Models of time perception often describe an “internal clock” that involves at least two components: an accumulator and a comparator. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to test the hypothesis that distinct distributed neural networks mediate… . . . → Read More: Carving the Clock at Its Component Joints: Neural Bases for Interval Timing

It has been suggested that, during decisions about actions, multiple options are initially specified in parallel and then gradually eliminated in a competition for overt execution. To further test this hypothesis, we studied the modulation of human co… . . . → Read More: Response Competition in the Primary Motor Cortex: Corticospinal Excitability Reflects Response Replacement During Simple Decisions

The normal development of sensory perception in mammals depends on appropriate sensory experience between birth and maturity. Numerous reports have shown that trimming some or all of the large mystacial vibrissa (whiskers) on one side of the face afte… . . . → Read More: Neonatal Sensory Deprivation and the Development of Cortical Function: Unilateral and Bilateral Sensory Deprivation Result in Different Functional Outcomes

Voluntary and stimulus-driven shifts of attention can modulate the representation of behaviorally relevant stimuli in early areas of visual cortex. In turn, attended items are processed faster and more accurately, facilitating the selection of appropr… . . . → Read More: Population Response Profiles in Early Visual Cortex Are Biased in Favor of More Valuable Stimuli

The guanidinium alkaloids tetrodotoxin (TTX) and saxitoxin (STX) are classic ligands of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs). Like TTX and STX, µ-conotoxin peptides are pore blockers but with greater VGSC subtype selectivity. µ-Conotoxin … . . . → Read More: Cooccupancy of the Outer Vestibule of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels by {micro}-Conotoxin KIIIA and Saxitoxin or Tetrodotoxin

Neurons in extrastriate visual areas have large receptive fields (RFs) compared with those in primary visual cortex (V1), suggesting extensive spatial integration. To examine the spatial integration of neurons in area MT, we modeled the RFs of MT neur… . . . → Read More: The Spatial Profile of Macaque MT Neurons Is Consistent With Gaussian Sampling of Logarithmically Coordinated Visual Representation

Auditory transduction occurs by opening of Ca2+-permeable mechanotransducer (MT) channels in hair cell stereociliary bundles. Ca2+ clearance from bundles was followed in rat outer hair cells (OHCs) using fast imaging of fluorescent indicators. Bundle … . . . → Read More: Calcium Balance and Mechanotransduction in Rat Cochlear Hair Cells

Romantic rejection causes a profound sense of loss and negative affect. It can induce clinical depression and in extreme cases lead to suicide and/or homicide. To begin to identify the neural systems associated with this natural loss state, we used fu… . . . → Read More: Reward, Addiction, and Emotion Regulation Systems Associated With Rejection in Love

A recent report by Scheibert et al. highlights the role of fingerprints in enhancing tactile sensitivity. By scanning a surface with a biometric force sensor they demonstrate the dominance of the frequencies that fall within the optimal sensitivity ra… . . . → Read More: Probing With and Into Fingerprints

The autoassociative memory model of hippocampal field CA3 postulates that Hebbian associations among external input features produce attractor states embedded in a recurrent synaptic matrix. In contrast, the attractor-map model postulates that a two-d… . . . → Read More: Attractor-Map Versus Autoassociation Based Attractor Dynamics in the Hippocampal Network

Although the cellular organization of many primary sensory nuclei has been well characterized, questions remain about the functional architecture of the first central relay for gustation, the rostral nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). Here we used e… . . . → Read More: Taste-Specific Cell Assemblies in a Biologically Informed Model of the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract