Locus Coeruleus Norepinephrine in Learned Behavior: Anatomical Modularity and Spatiotemporal Integration in Targets
Name
fncir-15-638007.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.11 MB
Format
Unknown
Checksum (MD5)
eed083c37a29ae257a837b67e86a7a67
Author(s)
Breton-Provencher, Vincent
Drummond, Gabrielle
Sur, Mriganka
Date Issued
2021
Journal
Frontiers in Neural Circuits
Publisher
Frontiers Media S.A.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
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.
MIT Department
Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2021.638007
