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Updated: Jun 27, 2025
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Assessing Pupil-linked Changes in Locus Coeruleus-mediated Arousal Elicited by Trigeminal Stimulation
Published on: November 26, 2019
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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.
Neuron
|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.
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.
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