Pre-trial predictors of conflict response efficacy in human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

The ability to perform motor actions depends, in part, on the brain's initial state, that is the ensemble firing rate pattern prior to the initiation of action. We hypothesized that the same principle would apply to cognitive functions as well. To test this idea, we examined a unique set of single unit data collected in human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Data were collected in a conflict task that interleaves Simon (motor-type) and Eriksen (flanker-type) conflict trials. Variability in pre-trial firing rate predicted the ability to resolve conflict, as inferred from reaction times. Ensemble patterns that predicted faster Simon reaction times overlapped slightly with those predicting Eriksen performance, indicating that the two conflict types are associated with near-orthogonal initial states, and suggesting that there is a weak abstract or amodal conflict preparatory state in this region. These codes became fully orthogonalized in the response state. We interpret these results in light of the initial state and dual-mechanisms of control hypotheses, arguing that the firing patterns in dlPFC immediately preceding the start of the task predispose it for the efficient implementation of cognitive action.

Consumer Perceptions of the Right to Repair

Device makers from Apple to John Deere have adopted strategies to thwart the repair of the products they sell. In response, state legislatures across the country are considering bills that would require firms to share replacement parts, tools, software updates, and documentation with independent repair shops and consumers. Beyond those legislative proposals, the policy battle over repair extends to courts, administrative agencies, and even presidential campaigns. In part, the repair debate turns on two very different conceptions of consumer attitudes and expectations. Do consumers prefer the convenience and simplicity of replacing their devices when something goes wrong? Or do they expect and value the ability to repair the things they own? This Article presents the results of a nationwide survey of consumers of electronic devices and explores its implications for the burgeoning right to repair movement.

Defining epidermal basal cell states during skin homeostasis and wound healing using single-cell transcriptomics

SUMMARYOur knowledge of transcriptional heterogeneities in epithelial stem/progenitor cell compartments is limited. Epidermal basal cells sustain cutaneous tissue maintenance and drive wound healing. Previous studies have probed basal cell heterogeneity in stem/progenitor potential, but a non-biased dissection of basal cell dynamics during differentiation is lacking. Using single-cell RNA-sequencing coupled with RNAScope and fluorescence lifetime imaging, we identify three non-proliferative and one proliferative basal cell transcriptional states in homeostatic skin that differ in metabolic preference and become spatially partitioned during wound re-epithelialization. Pseudotemporal trajectory and RNA velocity analyses produce a quasi-linear differentiation hierarchy where basal cells progress from Col17a1high/Trp63high state to early response state, proliferate at the juncture of these two states, or become growth arrested before differentiating into spinous cells. Wound healing induces plasticity manifested by dynamic basal-spinous interconversions at multiple basal states. Our study provides a systematic view of epidermal cellular dynamics supporting a revised “hierarchical-lineage” model of homeostasis.