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Updated: May 17, 2026
07:26
Assessing Pupil-linked Changes in Locus Coeruleus-mediated Arousal Elicited by Trigeminal Stimulation
Published on: November 26, 2019
Phasic LC-NE firing and attentional profiles: a pupillometric study
Gili Barkay1, Aya Morshed-Sakran1, Uri Hertz2
1School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; The Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Consciousness and Cognition
|May 15, 2026
Summary
The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system is crucial for attention.
- Phasic LC-NE activity enhances processing of relevant stimuli.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of phasic LC-NE activity in attention.
- To correlate pupil dilation measures with attentional performance.
Main Methods:
- Compared pupil dilations during high-demand discrimination and low-demand localization tasks.
- Utilized the MOXO-d-CPT continuous performance task with distractors.
- Assessed attentiveness, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and timeliness.
Main Results:
- Higher demand tasks showed greater pupil dilation, indicating increased attention.
- Phasic pupil responses correlated significantly with MOXO attentiveness.
- No significant associations found with other MOXO indices.
Conclusions:
- Phasic LC-NE activity may be involved in momentary attentional filtering.
- Individual differences in phasic LC-NE activity relate to distraction resilience.
- Further research with larger samples is needed for generalizability.
