Locus coeruleus

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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.

Locus coeruleus

The locus coeruleus, which I'll refer to as the LC from here on out to avoid an inevitable misspelling, is a nucleus found in the pons. It is located near the floor of the fourth ventricle. In the early s , the term locus coeruleus, which means "blue spot" in Latin, was used to refer to that pigmented region. It wasn't until the second half of the twentieth century, however, that new techniques allowed scientists to learn that the blue coloring in the LC is caused by the production of a pigment formed by chemical reactions involving the neurotransmitter norepinephrine also known as noradrenaline. It is now known that the LC is the primary site of norepinephrine production in the brain. The nucleus sends norepinephrine throughout the cerebral cortex as well as to a variety of other structures including the amygdala , hippocampus , cerebellum , and spinal cord. In fact, the LC sends projections to virtually all brain regions except the basal ganglia , which seems to be lacking noradrenergic i. Because of the diversity of its projections and the diversity of the actions of norepinephrine as a neurotransmitter, the LC is involved in a long list of functions. It is perhaps most strongly linked, however, to arousal, vigilance, and attention. Neurons in the LC are less active during quiet wakefulness and their activity is even more diminished during sleep indeed they are completely quiet during rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep , but they display increased activity in response to arousing stimuli. And optimal levels of norepinephrine in areas of the brain involved with attention, like the prefrontal cortex , have been found to be important to the facilitation of attention-related tasks. Additionally, the LC and the norepinephrine it produces are thought to be integral to a number of higher cognitive functions ranging from motivation to working memory. It also seems to play a role in fine-tuning sensory signals to increase acuity across multiple sense modalities. It should be noted, however, that norepinephrine has wide-ranging actions throughout the brain and any attempt to briefly summarize its functions or, by extension those of the LC is an oversimplification. Aging is associated with a significant loss of neurons in the LC , and a number of disordersincluding Alzheimer's disease , Parkinson's disease , and chronic traumatic encephalopathy are linked to deficits in the number of LC neurons.

Swift, K.

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Federal government websites often end in. The site is secure. Author contributions: All authors wrote the manuscript and approved the final manuscript. Despite its small size, the locus coeruleus is critical for a myriad of functions and is involved in many neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. The locus coeruleus LC is a norepinephrine-producing nucleus found in the dorsal pons of most vertebrates. Contemporary interest in the LC began with anatomical work by Fumio Sano and Glenn Russel, who independently concluded that the LC is a distinct nucleus with similar - though not identical - appearance across species Maeda, Like other neuromodulatory structures, the LC contains an exceedingly small number of cells, yet projects to much of the brain. The LC is therefore anatomically poised to modulate a wide range of functions, including homeostasis, sensory processing, motor behavior, and cognition. This review aims to summarize the basic physiology of the LC-norepinephrine system, its function in normal behavior, and its associated neural pathways. PD is a long-term neurodegenerative disease with both motor and neuropsychiatric symptoms Rommelfanger and Weinshenker,

Locus coeruleus

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The autoreceptors are endogenously activated by the release of noradrenaline from LC collaterals and thus provide a self-regulating mechanism of negative feedback [ 4 , 85 ]. Van Bockstaele EJ. Dopaminergic innervation of rat locus coeruleus: a light and electron microscopic immunohistochemical study. This book shows a whole other side of how brains work by examining the most unusual behavior to emerge from the human brain. Unitary characteristics of presumptive cholinergic tegmental neurons during the sleep-waking cycle in freely moving cats. Development , — Neurons containing hypocretin orexin project to multiple neuronal systems. Receptor and circuit mechanisms underlying differential procognitive actions of psychostimulants. Alzheimers Res. Priming stimulation of locus coeruleus facilitates memory retrieval in the rat. The projection from the prefrontal cortex to the LC may provide tonic activation of the LC [ ]. The effects of locus coeruleus and norepinephrine in methamphetamine toxicity. Donovan Heidi I. Efferent connections of the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area in the rat. The efferent projections from the reticular formation and the locus coeruleus studies by anterograde and retrograde axonal transport in the rat.

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.

Alpha 2 adrenergic receptors on GABAergic, putative sleep-promoting basal forebrain neurons. Eldar, E. Demonstration of two separate descending noradrenergic pathways to the rat spinal cord: Evidence for an intragriseal trajectory of locus coeruleus axons in the superficial layers of the dorsal horn. Mizukami T. Noradrenalin enhances the activity of cochlear nucleus neurons in the rat. Stress-related noradrenergic activity prompts large-scale neural network reconfiguration. Pontine sources of norepinephrine in the cat cochlear nucleus. Jahn, C. Because of the diversity of its projections and the diversity of the actions of norepinephrine as a neurotransmitter, the LC is involved in a long list of functions. Micrograph showing the locus coeruleus upper-right of image in an axial section of the pons. Alreja, M. Bilateral locus coeruleus lesions do not significantly reduce noradrenaline content in the trigeminal motor nucleus, suggesting that this input from the LC is of minor physiological significance [ ]. GABA-mediated baroreceptor inhibition of reticulospinal neurons. Wang, H.