Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40770025›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Phase synchrony between prefrontal noradrenergic and cholinergic signals indexes inhibitory control.

Yuxiang Andy Liu, Yuhan Nong, Jiesi Feng, Guochuan Li, Paul Sajda, Yulong Li, Qi Wang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Spatiotemporally dynamic noradrenergic regulation of cortical networks.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. The Contribution of the Locus Ceruleus-Norepinephrine System to the Coupling between Pupil-Linked Arousal and Cortical State.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Yuxiang Andy LiuDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, ET 351, 500 W 120th St, New York, NY, USA.
Yuhan NongDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, ET 351, 500 W 120th St, New York, NY, USA.
Jiesi FengState Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, PR China.
Guochuan LiState Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, PR China.
Paul SajdaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, ET 351, 500 W 120th St, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9738-1342
Yulong LiState Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, PR China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9166-9919
Qi WangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, ET 351, 500 W 120th St, New York, NY, USA. qi.wang@columbia.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8656-1439

Funding

The effects of long-term locus coeruleus stimulation on amyloid/tau pathology, synaptic plasticity, and memory during Alzheimer's disease progressionR01AG075114 · NIA · COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE · PI Qi Wang · 2022 to 2026
$2.4M
Noradrenergic and Cholinergic Mechanisms Underlying Pupil-Linked Arousal Modulation of Thalamic Sensory ProcessingR01NS119813 · NINDS · COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE · PI WANG, QI · 2021 to 2025
$2.2M
The role of the locus coeruleus in mediating pupil-linked arousalR01MH112267 · NIMH · COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE · PI WANG, QI · 2017 to 2021
$2.0M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG075114NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH112267NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS119813United States Department of Defense | United States Air Force | AFMC | Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AF Office of Scientific Research) FA9550-22-1-0337U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R01MH112267U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) R01NS119813U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute on Aging (U.S. National Institute on Aging) R01AG075114
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study investigates how norepinephrine (NE) and acetylcholine (ACh) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) modulate inhibitory control, a critical executive function. Using fluorescent sensors, we tracked prefrontal NE/ACh dynamics in mice during inhibitory control tasks and found strong NE-ACh coherence at 0.4-0.8 Hz. Inhibiting locus coeruleus (LC) neurons projecting to the basal forebrain (BF) induced greater impairments in inhibitory control than targeting those projecting to the PFC, despite partial overlap. This inhibition disrupted NE-ACh phase synchrony between successful and failed trials, indicating its importance. Conversely, silencing cholinergic neurons projecting to the LC did not affect task performance or phase synchrony. Neuropixels recordings revealed that disrupting LC-BF projections impaired PFC neuronal encoding and altered population firing patterns linked to inhibitory control. These findings suggest that the LC and cholinergic systems jointly modulate inhibitory control by influencing NE-ACh synchrony and its effect on PFC activity, underscoring their role in cognitive control.

Indexed as

AcetylcholineCholinergic NeuronsNorepinephrinePrefrontal CortexAnimalsBasal ForebrainExecutive FunctionLocus CoeruleusMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLNeuronsAcetylcholineNorepinephrine

Identifiers

PMID40770025
PMCPMC12328735

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.