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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2025

Assessing Pupil-linked Changes in Locus Coeruleus-mediated Arousal Elicited by Trigeminal Stimulation

Assessing Pupil-linked Changes in Locus Coeruleus-mediated Arousal Elicited by Trigeminal Stimulation

Published on: November 26, 2019

Locus coeruleus norepinephrine contributes to visual-spatial attention by selectively enhancing perceptual

Supriya Ghosh¹, John H R Maunsell¹

¹Department of Neurobiology and Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

|May 3, 2024

Summary

Norepinephrine (NE) neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) selectively enhance visual discrimination when attention is focused on relevant stimuli. This cellular-level control of attention improves perception without altering motor responses.

Keywords:

attentional gain modulation locus coeruleus macaque neuromodulation non-human primate noradrenaline norepinephrine optogenetics perceptual sensitivity visual-spatial attention

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Published on: March 18, 2019

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Last Updated: Jun 27, 2025

Assessing Pupil-linked Changes in Locus Coeruleus-mediated Arousal Elicited by Trigeminal Stimulation

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Published on: November 26, 2019

Localization of the Locus Coeruleus in the Mouse Brain

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Published on: March 7, 2019

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

Published on: March 18, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Sensory Perception

Background:

Selective attention enhances perception by prioritizing relevant stimuli over irrelevant ones.
Neuronal response gain is a proposed mechanism for attention-related perceptual improvements.
The specific neural pathways governing attention-based perceptual sensitivity are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of norepinephrine (NE) neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) in selective visual attention.
To determine if LC-NE neuronal activity causally influences perceptual sensitivity.
To elucidate the cellular mechanisms underlying attention-modulated visual discrimination.

Main Methods:

Recorded activity of LC-NE neurons in non-human primates during visual discrimination tasks.
Correlated neuronal firing patterns with behavioral performance and stimulus relevance.
Used optogenetics to selectively activate LC-NE neurons and assess effects on visual detection and motor control.

Main Results:

LC-NE neurons exhibited stimulus-evoked spiking selectively for attended stimuli in the contralateral visual field.
This spiking correlated with enhanced behavioral sensitivity and was absent during error trials.
Optogenetic activation of LC-NE neurons improved contralateral stimulus detection without altering motor criteria.

Conclusions:

LC-NE neuronal activity plays a causal role in the spatially selective control of visual attention.
NE's function in selective attention operates at a granular, cellular level, distinct from its diffuse modulatory roles.
These findings reveal a key cellular mechanism for how the brain prioritizes sensory information for enhanced perception.