ArticleNature neuroscience2017
Modular organization of the brainstem noradrenaline system coordinates opposing learning states.
Article in Nature neuroscience, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 190 papers.
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190 citing papers in PubMed, 368 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Early life stress induces sex-specific changes in cognitive and affective behavior associated with disrupted noradrenergic physiology.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- A ventral hippocampus-basolateral amygdala circuit regulates the unconditioned stimulus retrieval-induced reconsolidation of remote fear memory.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Spatiotemporally dynamic noradrenergic regulation of cortical networks.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Inferring norepinephrine dynamics from partial observations reveals the temporal structure of elevations during arousal.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Locus coeruleus-amygdala circuit disrupts prefrontal control to impair fear extinction.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- The role of the locus coeruleus in eye movements during perceptual decision making.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
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- LC-IL but Not LC-PL Circuit Regulates Comorbid Mechanical Hyperalgesia and Anxiety in Male Rats with Chronic Post-Surgical Pain.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Top-down control of sustained attention by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) - locus coeruleus (LC) circuit during the rodent continuous performance test (rCPT).bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
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- Neural Circuit Connections and Functions of Locus Coeruleus-Norepinephrine System.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Locus Coeruleus MR Measured Signal Intensity in Fibromyalgia Relative to Healthy Controls.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Article
- Circuit-selective pharmacological targeting of prefrontal cortex-projecting locus coeruleus neurons drives antinociception.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Stress reactivity is modulated by cannabinoid type-1 receptors in norepinephrine and epinephrine neurons in a context-dependent manner.Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Arousal increases locus coeruleus blood flow, salience-related brain responses, and modulates negative-valence attentional biases.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Low affinity noradrenergic signaling promotes passive coping during reinforcement behavior.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Stimulus-Dependent Dopamine Dynamics from Locus Coeruleus Axons.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
130 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
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Noradrenaline modulates global brain states and diverse behaviors through what is traditionally believed to be a homogeneous cell population in the brainstem locus coeruleus (LC). However, it is unclear how LC coordinates disparate behavioral functions. We report a modular LC organization in rats, endowed with distinct neural projection patterns and coding properties for flexible specification of opposing behavioral learning states. LC projection mapping revealed functionally distinct cell modules with specific anatomical connectivity. An amygdala-projecting ensemble promoted aversive learning, while an independent medial prefrontal cortex-projecting ensemble extinguished aversive responses to enable flexible behavior. LC neurons displayed context-dependent inter-relationships, with moderate, discrete activation of distinct cell populations by fear or safety cues and robust, global recruitment of most cells by strong aversive stimuli. These results demonstrate a modular organization in LC in which combinatorial activation modes are coordinated with projection- and behavior-specific cell populations, enabling adaptive tuning of emotional responding and behavioral flexibility.
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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.