Pontospinal noradrenergic neurons are thought to form part of a descending endogenous analgesic system that exerts inhibitory influences on spinal nociception. Using optogenetic targeting, we tested the hypothesis that excitation of the locus ceruleus (LC) is antinociceptive. We transduced rat LC neurons by direct injection of a lentiviral vector expressing channelrhodopsin2 under the control o...

A wide range of commonly abused drugs have effects on the noradrenergic neurotransmitter system, including alterations during acute intoxication and chronic use of these drugs. It is not established, however, that individual differences in noradrenergic signaling, which may be present prior to use of drugs, predispose certain persons to substance abuse. This paper puts forth the novel hypothesi...

In multiple sclerosis (MS), monoaminergic systems are altered as a result of both inflammation-dependent reduced synthesis and direct structural damage. Aberrant neurotransmission is increasingly considered major contributor to fatigue pathophysiology. this study, we aimed compare the integrity white matter fibre tracts projecting from brainstem nuclei in group patients with MS (n = 68) healthy...

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), there is a significant loss of locus ceruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons. However, functional and anatomical evidence indicates that the remaining noradrenergic neurons may be compensating for the loss. Because the noradrenergic system plays an important role in learning and memory, it is important to determine whether compensation occurs in noradrenergic neurons in...

BACKGROUND Appropriate levels of skeletal muscle tone are needed to support routine motor behaviors. But, the brain mechanisms that function to couple muscle tone with waking behaviors are unknown. We addressed this question by studying mice with cataplexy--a condition caused by a decoupling of motor and arousal behaviors. Cataplexy is characterized by involuntary loss of muscle tone during wak...

BACKGROUND Animal models of anxiety disorders emphasize the crucial role of locus ceruleus-noradrenergic (norepinephrine, NE) signaling, the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and their interactions in the expression of anxiety-like behavioral responses to stress. Despite clinical evidence for the efficacy of a β-noradrenergic receptor blockade with propranolol in the alleviation of anxiety symptoms an...

Fetal cocaine exposure has been shown to cause neurobehavioral abnormalities related to ontogeny of catecholaminergic systems. In the current study, pregnant rats received cocaine (30 mg/kg s.c. daily) from gestational days 8 through 20 and markers of presynaptic and postsynaptic noradrenergic function were monitored in the offspring from birth to young adulthood. Animals in the cocaine group h...

Degeneration of the noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) in aging and neurodegenerative diseases is well documented. Slowing or reversing this effect may have therapeutic implications. Phox2a and Phox2b are homeodomain transcriptional factors that function as determinants of the noradrenergic phenotype during embryogenesis. In the present study, recombinant lentiviral eGFP-Phox2a and -Phox2b (vPh...

Increasing evidence indicates that the noradrenergic system plays a key role in biasing the nervous system towards producing behaviors that help animals adapt to constantly changing environments. Most of the studies investigating noradrenergic function are performed in animals that have a limited repertoire of tractable natural behaviors. Songbirds, in contrast, with their rich set of precisely...

neural stem cells (nscs) as a heterogeneous multipotent and self- renewal population are found in different areas in the developing mammalian nervous system, as well as the sub-ventricular zone (svz) and the hippocampus of the adult brain. nscs can give rise to neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. the aim of this study was to differentiate neural stem cells into noradrenergic–like cells in...