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Published May 1, 1980 | public
Journal Article Open

Impulse activity of locus coeruleus neurons in awake rats and monkeys is a function of sensory stimulation and arousal

Abstract

By means of extracellular recordings, individual norepinephrine-containing neurons in the locus coeruleus of unanesthetized behaviorally responsive rats and squirrel monkeys were found to respond to specific sensory and behavioral conditions. In rats, distinct clusters of action potentials followed the presentation of various nonnoxious auditory, visual, or somatosensory stimuli at latencies of 15-60 msec. Increased discharge rates were also seen during periods of spontaneous electroencephalogram arousal in both species. In monkeys, these cells responded most vigorously to complex arousing stimuli such as a preferred food. Because the noradrenergic innervation of most forebrain regions arises from the locus coeruleus, these results allow prediction of situations under which this massive projection system would be active and suggest a physiological role for this chemically identified network in specific behavioral processes.

Additional Information

© 1980 by the National Academy of Sciences. Contributed by Floyd E. Bloom, February 4, 1980. G.A.-J. was principal investigator for the rat studies reported here; S.L.F. was principal investigator for the monkey studies. A. Schwartz and M. Segal made valuable contributions during the early stages of these studies. We thank S. Aston and N. Callahan for assistance. This work was supported by U.S. Public Health Service Grants AA 03504 and NS 16209. The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U. S. C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.

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August 22, 2023
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October 16, 2023