Locus coeruleus

The locus coeruleus, which I'll refer to as locus coeruleus LC from here on out to avoid an inevitable misspelling, is a nucleus found in the pons, locus coeruleus. It is located near the floor of the fourth ventricle.

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Locus coeruleus

The locus coeruleus LC , a small brainstem nucleus, is the primary source of the neuromodulator norepinephrine NE in the brain. The LC receives input from widespread brain regions, and projects throughout the forebrain, brainstem, cerebellum, and spinal cord. LC neurons release NE to control arousal, but also in the context of a variety of sensory-motor and behavioral functions. Despite its brain-wide effects, much about the role of LC-NE in behavior and the circuits controlling LC activity is unknown. New evidence suggests that the modular input-output organization of the LC could enable transient, task-specific modulation of distinct brain regions. Future work must further assess whether this spatial modularity coincides with functional differences in LC-NE subpopulations acting at specific times, and how such spatiotemporal specificity might influence learned behaviors. Here, we summarize the state of the field and present new ideas on the role of LC-NE in learned behaviors. Norepinephrine NE is one of the four main neuromodulators in the brain, exerting widespread influence over almost all cortical and subcortical brain regions. Neurons in the locus coeruleus LC release NE to regulate baseline arousal and to facilitate a variety of sensory-motor and behavioral functions Aston-Jones and Cohen, ; Sara, ; Sara and Bouret, ; Poe et al. Despite its brain-wide effects and established involvement in CNS disorders, much about even the normal function of the LC-NE system in the brain remains unknown. For example, the conditions under which LC-NE neurons are transiently activated and the modes of NE action during learned behaviors are poorly understood, especially in comparison to other neuromodulatory systems, such as dopamine Schultz et al. There are at least three reasons for this gap.

Neuroscience63—71 Devoto, P.

Federal government websites often end in. The site is secure. The locus coeruleus LC is the major noradrenergic nucleus of the brain, giving rise to fibres innervating extensive areas throughout the neuraxis. Recent advances in neuroscience have resulted in the unravelling of the neuronal circuits controlling a number of physiological functions in which the LC plays a central role. Two such functions are the regulation of arousal and autonomic activity, which are inseparably linked largely via the involvement of the LC. The LC is a major wakefulness-promoting nucleus, resulting from dense excitatory projections to the majority of the cerebral cortex, cholinergic neurones of the basal forebrain, cortically-projecting neurones of the thalamus, serotoninergic neurones of the dorsal raphe and cholinergic neurones of the pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental nucleus, and substantial inhibitory projections to sleep-promoting GABAergic neurones of the basal forebrain and ventrolateral preoptic area. Activation of the LC thus results in the enhancement of alertness through the innervation of these varied nuclei.

The locus coeruleus LC , or 'blue spot', is a small nucleus located deep in the brainstem that provides the far-reaching noradrenergic neurotransmitter system of the brain. This phylogenetically conserved nucleus has proved relatively intractable to full characterization, despite more than 60 years of concerted efforts by investigators. Recently, an array of powerful new neuroscience tools have provided unprecedented access to this elusive nucleus, revealing new levels of organization and function. We are currently at the threshold of major discoveries regarding how this tiny brainstem structure exerts such varied and significant influences over brain function and behaviour. All LC neurons receive inputs related to autonomic arousal, but distinct subpopulations of those neurons can encode specific cognitive processes, presumably through more specific inputs from the forebrain areas. This ability, combined with specific patterns of innervation of target areas and heterogeneity in receptor distributions, suggests that activation of the LC has more specific influences on target networks than had initially been imagined. Abstract The locus coeruleus LC , or 'blue spot', is a small nucleus located deep in the brainstem that provides the far-reaching noradrenergic neurotransmitter system of the brain. Publication types Research Support, Non-U.

Locus coeruleus

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Lesions of the dorsal noradrenergic bundle impair attentional set-shifting in the rat. Vanderheyden, W. Distribution of alpha 2C-adrenergic receptor-like immunoreactivity in the rat central nervous system. Sobanski T, Wagner G. Liu, K. Indeed, specific functions have been attributed to NE from region-specific pharmacological or optogenetic manipulations of LC activity. A role for the locus coeruleus in hippocampal CA1 place cell reorganization during spatial reward learning. Wise RA. Cell Sci. Tuning arousal with optogenetic modulation of locus coeruleus neurons. Sepede, G. The LC projects diffusely to the cochlear nuclei and noradrenaline levels are detectable here in moderate concentrations [ , , , , ].

The locus coeruleus, which in Latin means "blue spot", is the principal site for brain synthesis of norepinephrine noradrenaline. The locus coeruleus and the areas of the body affected by the norepinephrine it produces are described collectively as the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system or LC-NA system.

Older adults typically exhibit a decline in LC functional connectivity that correlates with an inability to suppress non-salient information during arousal Lee et al. The LC, a pontine nucleus located near the pontomesencephalic junction, is the largest group of noradrenergic neurones in the central nervous system [ 70 , , ]. Mieda M, Yanagisawa M. Psychiatry 46, — Vonck, K. Twarkowski, H. PubMed Google Scholar. It should be noted, however, that this effect of clonidine on the auditory evoked potentials has not been observed in every study [ 2 ]. CART peptides colocalize with tyrosine hydroxylase neurons in rat locus coeruleus. The LC's role in cognitive function in relation to stress is complex and multi-modal.