Bidirectional pharmacological perturbations of the noradrenergic system differentially affect tactile detection.

ABSTRACT: The brain neuromodulatory systems heavily influence behavioral and cognitive processes. Previous work has shown that norepinephrine (NE), a classic neuromodulator mainly derived from the locus coeruleus (LC), enhances neuronal responses to sensory stimuli. However, the role of the LC-NE system in modulating perceptual task performance is not well understood. In addition, systemic perturbation of NE signaling has often been proposed to specifically target the LC in functional studies, yet the assumption that localized (specific) and systemic (nonspecific) perturbations of LC-NE have the same behavioral impact remains largely untested. In this study, we trained mice to perform a head-fixed, quantitative tactile detection task, and administered an α2 adrenergic receptor agonist or antagonist

SUBMITTER: McBurney-Lin J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7318910 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature