CNI Seminar: Jeremiah Cohen

Jeremiah Cohen
Allen Institute

 

Structure and function of locus coeruleus norepinephrine neurons

Norepinephrine (NE) is a neurotransmitter released through most of the central nervous system from neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) in the brainstem. We found a relationship between the structure and function of these neurons in mice. Axonal projections of individual neurons were largely confined within brain regions and correlated with spatial gene expression in LC in the dorsal-ventral axis. LC-NE neurons showed two types of action potentials, wide (type I, dorsal) and narrow (type II, ventral). In a behavioral task requiring ongoing learning, type I neurons were excited by reward prediction error, a key signal driving learning, and predicted future changes in behavior. Type II neurons were excited by lack of reward and predicted the opposite changes in future behavior. Together, these observations reveal a link between the structure and function of a neurotransmitter system.


A pizza lunch will be served.