Locus coeruleus

Recent articles

The brain’s quiet conductor: How hidden cells fine-tune arousal

New research published today suggests that the pericoeruleus acts as a kind of micromanager of arousal, selectively inhibiting different subgroups of locus coeruleus neurons depending on the behavioral context.

By Mac Shine
7 May 2025 | 59 min watch
Three sleeping mice.

Fleeting sleep interruptions may help brain reset

Brief, seconds-long microarousals during deep sleep “ride on the wave” of locus coeruleus activity in mice and correlate with periods of waste clearing and memory consolidation, new research suggests.

By Shaena Montanari
13 January 2025 | 5 min read
Micrograph comparing locus coeruleus of 16p11.2 mutant mice and control mice show less active noradrenergic neurons in mutant mice.

Circuit flaw underlies motor learning issues in autism mouse model

Mice missing a copy of chromosomal region 16p11.2 are slow to learn motor tasks and have dysfunction in a brain circuit associated with stress and movement, according to a new study. Normalizing this circuit's activity corrects the learning deficit.

By Peter Hess
12 April 2021 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Escaping groupthink: What animals’ behavioral quirks reveal about the brain

Neuroscientists have long ignored the variability in animals’ behavioral responses in favor of studying differences across groups. But work on the brain differences that underlie that variability is beginning to pay off.

By Angie Voyles Askham
23 May 2025 | 0 min watch
Research image of the spinal meninges in mice.

Immune cells block pain in female mice only

Regulatory T cells in the spinal meninges release endogenous opioids in a sex-specific manner, new work shows.

By Angie Voyles Askham
22 May 2025 | 5 min read
A disembodied hand holds a stamp over a messy stack of papers.

Exclusive: Layoffs revoked at U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

After more than a month of uncertainty, 30 previously purged employees at the institute no longer face termination.

By Angie Voyles Askham, Sydney Wyatt
21 May 2025 | 3 min read