Differential attentional control mechanisms by two distinct noradrenergic coeruleo-frontal cortical pathways
© 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. The attentional control of behavior is a higher-order cognitive function that operates through attention and response inhibition. The locus coeruleus (LC), the main source of norepinephrine in the brain, is considered to be involved in attent...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/134035 |
| _version_ | 1826200998147784704 |
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| author | Bari, Andrea Xu, Sangyu Pignatelli, Michele Takeuchi, Daigo Feng, Jiesi Li, Yulong Tonegawa, Susumu |
| author2 | RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics |
| author_facet | RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics Bari, Andrea Xu, Sangyu Pignatelli, Michele Takeuchi, Daigo Feng, Jiesi Li, Yulong Tonegawa, Susumu |
| author_sort | Bari, Andrea |
| collection | MIT |
| description | © 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. The attentional control of behavior is a higher-order cognitive function that operates through attention and response inhibition. The locus coeruleus (LC), the main source of norepinephrine in the brain, is considered to be involved in attentional control by modulating the neuronal activity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, evidence for the causal role of LC activity in attentional control remains elusive. Here, by using behavioral and optogenetic techniques, we investigate the effect of LC neuron activation or inhibition in operant tests measuring attention and response inhibition (i.e., a measure of impulsive behavior). We show that LC neuron stimulation increases goal-directed attention and decreases impulsivity, while its suppression exacerbates distractibility and increases impulsive responding. Remarkably, we found that attention and response inhibition are under the control of two divergent projections emanating from the LC: one to the dorso-medial PFC and the other to the ventro-lateral orbitofrontal cortex, respectively. These findings are especially relevant for those pathological conditions characterized by attention deficits and elevated impulsivity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:44:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/134035 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:44:40Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1340352023-09-25T21:03:06Z Differential attentional control mechanisms by two distinct noradrenergic coeruleo-frontal cortical pathways Bari, Andrea Xu, Sangyu Pignatelli, Michele Takeuchi, Daigo Feng, Jiesi Li, Yulong Tonegawa, Susumu RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics Picower Institute for Learning and Memory Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Howard Hughes Medical Institute © 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. The attentional control of behavior is a higher-order cognitive function that operates through attention and response inhibition. The locus coeruleus (LC), the main source of norepinephrine in the brain, is considered to be involved in attentional control by modulating the neuronal activity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, evidence for the causal role of LC activity in attentional control remains elusive. Here, by using behavioral and optogenetic techniques, we investigate the effect of LC neuron activation or inhibition in operant tests measuring attention and response inhibition (i.e., a measure of impulsive behavior). We show that LC neuron stimulation increases goal-directed attention and decreases impulsivity, while its suppression exacerbates distractibility and increases impulsive responding. Remarkably, we found that attention and response inhibition are under the control of two divergent projections emanating from the LC: one to the dorso-medial PFC and the other to the ventro-lateral orbitofrontal cortex, respectively. These findings are especially relevant for those pathological conditions characterized by attention deficits and elevated impulsivity. 2021-10-27T19:57:43Z 2021-10-27T19:57:43Z 2020 2021-08-03T15:32:56Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/134035 en 10.1073/pnas.2015635117 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences PNAS |
| spellingShingle | Bari, Andrea Xu, Sangyu Pignatelli, Michele Takeuchi, Daigo Feng, Jiesi Li, Yulong Tonegawa, Susumu Differential attentional control mechanisms by two distinct noradrenergic coeruleo-frontal cortical pathways |
| title | Differential attentional control mechanisms by two distinct noradrenergic coeruleo-frontal cortical pathways |
| title_full | Differential attentional control mechanisms by two distinct noradrenergic coeruleo-frontal cortical pathways |
| title_fullStr | Differential attentional control mechanisms by two distinct noradrenergic coeruleo-frontal cortical pathways |
| title_full_unstemmed | Differential attentional control mechanisms by two distinct noradrenergic coeruleo-frontal cortical pathways |
| title_short | Differential attentional control mechanisms by two distinct noradrenergic coeruleo-frontal cortical pathways |
| title_sort | differential attentional control mechanisms by two distinct noradrenergic coeruleo frontal cortical pathways |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/134035 |
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