The locus coeruleus: neurobiology of a central noradrenergic nucleus

Amaral, David G.; Sinnamon, Harry M.

doi:10.1016/0301-0082(77)90016-8

Cited by 475 publications

(156 citation statements)

References 293 publications

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“…The activation of the coeruleocortical NA projection is seen as a part of a coor~ dinated response to stress which serves to protect and enhance the organism's cognitive capabilities at a time when its body is also preparing itself to meet the metabolic and physiological challenges of the situation. A related hypothesis has been advanced by Amaral and Sinnamon (1977). There are several lines of evidence arising from our own work that support this position.…”

Section: Does the Lc Have A Unitary Function?supporting

confidence: 61%

Functional hypotheses of the coeruleocortical noradrenergic projection: A review of recent experimentation and theory

et al. 1985

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The behavioral function of the coeruleocortical system and the hypotheses implicating its role in mediating selective attention and behavioral inhibition to anxiogenic cues are evaluated. The diverse pattern of results produced by lesions induced by 6-hydroxydopamine on a variety of tasks (appetitive conditional discrimination, nonreversal shift, blocking, latent inhibition, distraction, taste aversion, neophobia, and conditioned emotional response) are integrated to achieve a tentative hypothesis of coeruleocortical noradrenergic function.There has been enormous interest in the functions of the nucleus locus coeruleus (LC) and its projections to the cortex via the dorsal noradrenergic bundle (DNAB) from several neurobiological perspectives. Although the nature of the afferents to the LC and the precise organization of the DNAB are still a matter for debate, it is perhaps of some functional significance that a single cell body can give rise to both ascending and descending axons innervating regions as diverse as the neocortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, and spinal cord. These peculiar features of organization suggest, for want of a better term, a rather "general" function whereby messages relayed to at least a proportion of noradrenergic (NA) cell bodies would result in the transmission of information to widespread regions, thereby influencing the special forms of processing occurring there.Although such general considerations imply rather nonspecific functions for the LC, we should like to avoid the temptation of assuming simply that this implies a role in nonspecific processes along the lines of the maintenance of cortical arousal by the reticular formation suggested originally by Hebb, Lindsley, and others. Recent neu-

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Section: Does the Lc Have A Unitary Function?supporting

confidence: 61%

Functional hypotheses of the coeruleocortical noradrenergic projection: A review of recent experimentation and theory

et al. 1985

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“…Amaral and Sinnamon (1977) proposed that the LC, as the central analogue of a sympathetic ganglion, "serves to maintain levels of excitability optimal for information processing of environmental stimuli relevant to coping with an aversive event" (p . 184).…”

Section: Sara Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The locus coeruleus and cognitive function: Attempts to relate noradrenergic enhancement of signal/noise in the brain to behavior

Sara

1985

Psychobiology

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“…As the largest of the noradrenergic nuclei in mammalian brains, the locus coeruleus (LC) has recently been the object of many investigations (see reviews by Amaral and Sinnamon, 1977;Foote et al, 1983). The application of histofluorescence and immuocytochemical techniques has contributed greatly to an understanding of the morphology of this nucleus and its projections.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Noradrenergic responses of spinal neurons in locus coeruleus-spinal cord co-cultures

Pun¹,

Marshall²,

Hendelman³

et al. 1985

J. Neurosci.

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Locus coeruleus (LC) explants were co-cultured with dissociated spinal neurons of mice. Nerve fibers exhibiting catecholamine fluorescence radiated from the explants and frequently invested spinal cord (SC) neurons close to the explants. Electrical stimulation of the explant and iontophoretic application of norepinephrine evoked a spectrum of slow depolarizing, hyperpolarizing, and biphasic responses in the SC cells. The responses to LC stimulation and to application of norepinephrine were usually similar in a given cell. The depolarizing responses were associated with an increase in apparent input resistance and pharmacologic tests indicated that the responses were mediated by a-receptors.Neurons in regions innervated by catecholaminecontaining fibers usually gave depolarizing responses to LC stimulation and such neurons had a very high probability of exhibiting depolarizing responses to applied norepinephrine. It would appear that either locus coeruleus explants favored the survival of cells with a-receptors or expression of these receptors in SC neurons was induced by innervation of the neurons by locus coeruleus axons.

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The locus coeruleus: neurobiology of a central noradrenergic nucleus

Cited by 475 publications

References 293 publications

Functional hypotheses of the coeruleocortical noradrenergic projection: A review of recent experimentation and theory

Functional hypotheses of the coeruleocortical noradrenergic projection: A review of recent experimentation and theory

The locus coeruleus and cognitive function: Attempts to relate noradrenergic enhancement of signal/noise in the brain to behavior

Noradrenergic responses of spinal neurons in locus coeruleus-spinal cord co-cultures

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