ArticleThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience2014
Optoactivation of locus ceruleus neurons evokes bidirectional changes in thermal nociception in rats.
Article in The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers.
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Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 177 citations in OpenAlex.
- Norepinephrinergic projection from locus coeruleus to parafascicular nucleus promotes pain and anxiety-like behaviors in mice.JCI insight · 2026Article
- Potential mechanisms of the glucocorticoid withdrawal syndrome.European journal of endocrinology · 2026Review
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- Efficacy and Spinal Noradrenergic Mechanisms of Contralateral Melittin Acupuncture Against Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathic Pain in Rats.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Neural Circuit Connections and Functions of Locus Coeruleus-Norepinephrine System.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Dexmedetomidine elicits a prolonged anxiolytic effect by inhibiting adrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus in mice.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Circuit-selective pharmacological targeting of prefrontal cortex-projecting locus coeruleus neurons drives antinociception.Cell reports · 2025Article
- An early surge of norepinephrine along brainstem pathways drives sensory-evoked awakening.Science advances · 2025Article
- Brainstem noradrenergic modulation of the kisspeptin neuron GnRH pulse generator in mice.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Molecular Anatomy of Synaptic and Extrasynaptic Neurotransmission Between Nociceptive Primary Afferents and Spinal Dorsal Horn Neurons.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Differential Neuronal Activation of Nociceptive Pathways in Neuropathic Pain After Spinal Cord Injury.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Therapeutic effects of melittin on paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathic pain and spinal neuronal hyperactivity in male rats.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Impaired modulation of the trigeminal caudal nucleus by the locus coeruleus in diabetic mice: the role of GABAergic and glycinergic neurons.Frontiers in neuroanatomy · 2025Article
- What Links Sleep and Neuropathic Pain?: A Literature Review on the Neural Circuits for Sleep and Pain Control.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Review
- Wireless Modular Implantable Neural Device with One-touch Magnetic Assembly for Versatile Neuromodulation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Variations of neuronal properties in the region of locus coeruleus of mice.Brain research · 2024Article
- How to Distinguish Non-Inflammatory from Inflammatory Pain in RA?Current rheumatology reports · 2024Review
- Emerging Functions of Neuromodulation during Sleep.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2024Review
- Modulating Neural Circuits of Pain in Preclinical Models: Recent Insights for Future Therapeutics.Cells · 2024Review
28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Pontospinal noradrenergic neurons are thought to form part of a descending endogenous analgesic system that exerts inhibitory influences on spinal nociception. Using optogenetic targeting, we tested the hypothesis that excitation of the locus ceruleus (LC) is antinociceptive. We transduced rat LC neurons by direct injection of a lentiviral vector expressing channelrhodopsin2 under the control of the PRS promoter. Subsequent optoactivation of the LC evoked repeatable, robust, antinociceptive (+4.7°C ± 1.0, p < 0.0001) or pronociceptive (-4.4°C ± 0.7, p < 0.0001) changes in hindpaw thermal withdrawal thresholds. Post hoc anatomical characterization of the distribution of transduced somata referenced against the position of the optical fiber and subsequent further functional analysis showed that antinociceptive actions were evoked from a distinct, ventral subpopulation of LC neurons. Therefore, the LC is capable of exerting potent, discrete, bidirectional influences on thermal nociception that are produced by specific subpopulations of noradrenergic neurons. This reflects an underlying functional heterogeneity of the influence of the LC on the processing of nociceptive information.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.