Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39312903›Full record

ArticleAging cell2025

Aging disrupts locus coeruleus-driven norepinephrine transmission in the prefrontal cortex: Implications for cognitive and motor decline.

Evgeny Budygin, Valentina Grinevich, Zhong-Min Wang, María Laura Messi, William Ryan Meeker, Jie Zhang, William Matthew Stewart, Carol Milligan, Osvaldo Delbono

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Aging cell, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Age-Related Increase in Locus Ceruleus Activity and Connectivity with the Prefrontal Cortex during Ambiguity Processing.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Evgeny BudyginDepartment of Internal Medicine, Sections on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Valentina GrinevichDepartment of Internal Medicine, Sections on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Zhong-Min WangDepartment of Internal Medicine, Sections on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
María Laura MessiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Sections on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
William Ryan MeekerDepartment of Internal Medicine, Sections on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Jie ZhangDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
William Matthew StewartDepartment of Translational Neuroscience, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Carol MilliganDepartment of Translational Neuroscience, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Osvaldo DelbonoDepartment of Internal Medicine, Sections on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1613-8202

Funding

Role of Central Autonomic Relays in Aging SarcopeniaR01AG071545 · NIA · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI Osvaldo Delbono · 2022 to 2026
$2.9M
Accelerated Sarcopenia in Early Alzheimer's DiseaseR01AG080586 · NIA · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI DELBONO, OSVALDO · 2023 to 2025
$2.3M
The Role of the Sympathetic Nervous System in the Onset and Development of SarcopeniaR01AG057013 · NIA · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI DELBONO, OSVALDO · 2017 to 2021
$2.0M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG057013NIA NIH HHS R01AG057013NIA NIH HHS R01 AG071545NIA NIH HHS R01AG071545NIA NIH HHS R01 AG080586
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The locus coeruleus (LC)-prefrontal cortex (PFC) circuitry is crucial for cognition, planning, posture and mobility. This study examines the role of norepinephrine (NE) in elucidating the neurobiological basis of age-related cognitive and motor declines. Aged mice exhibited reduced spatial learning, impaired memory, decreased physical endurance, and notable changes in locomotor behavior. The neurochemical foundations of these deficits were investigated through fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to measure NE release in the PFC and LC, both in vivo and in brain slices. Additionally, oxygen levels were monitored as a proxy for PFC neuronal function, and NE levels were analyzed in the extracellular space via microdialysis and total content in the PFC. Aged mice exhibited a frequency-dependent increase in NE release in the PFC upon LC stimulation, suggesting alterations in neural responsiveness due to aging. We also recorded slower NE reuptake rates and increased NE content and neuronal activity, indicated by higher oxygen levels and facilitated neuron activation due to membrane depolarization recorded via whole-cell patch-clamp. To understand the basis for LC-driven NE surges in the PFC with aging, we examined the expression levels of two proteins critical for presynaptic NE release and NE reuptake: the α2a-adrenergic receptor and the NE transporter. Both showed a significant decrease in the PFC with aging. These findings support the concept that aging significantly alters the structural and functional dynamics within the LC-PFC neural circuit, impacting NE modulation and neuronal activity, which may underlie the observed declines in cognitive and motor functions in aging populations.

Indexed as

AgingLocus CoeruleusNorepinephrinePrefrontal CortexAnimalsCognitionMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLSynaptic TransmissionNorepinephrineagingGaitlocus coeruleusmemorymobilitynoradrenergic neuronsprefrontal cortex

Identifiers

PMID39312903
PMCPMC11709105

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.