QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, November 3, 2004, 24(44):9914-9920; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2446-04.2004

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (30) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Clayton, E. C. Articles by Aston-Jones, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Clayton, E. C. Articles by Aston-Jones, G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Phasic Activation of Monkey Locus Ceruleus Neurons by Simple Decisions in a Forced-Choice Task

Edwin C. Clayton,¹ Janusz Rajkowski,¹ Jonathan D. Cohen,² and Gary Aston-Jones¹

¹Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, and ²Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544

The noradrenergic locus ceruleus (LC) system has been implicated in several behavioral functions, most notably, response to salient sensory events. Here, we provide new evidence indicating a role in the execution of responses associated with simple decisions. We examined impulse activity of monkey LC neurons during performance of a forced-choice discrimination task. The timing of LC activity more closely tracked behavioral responses than stimulus presentation. LC neurons were phasically activated preceding behavioral responses for both correct and incorrect identifications but were not activated by stimuli that failed to elicit lever responses nor by nontask-related lever movements. We hypothesize that the LC responds to the outcome of task-related decision processes, facilitating their influence on overt behavior. This role of the LC in regulating the behavioral outcome of decisional processes contrasts with more traditional views of LC responses as primarily related to sensory processes.

Key words: primate; electrophysiology; norepinephrine; attention; cognition; vigilance

---

Received Aug 30, 2003; revised September 15, 2004; accepted September 22, 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Shea-Brown, M. S. Gilzenrat, and J. D. Cohen Optimization of Decision Making in Multilayer Networks: The Role of Locus Coeruleus Neural Comput., December 1, 2008; 20(12): 2863 - 2894. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Sakurai, R. J. Calin-Jageman, and P. S. Katz Potentiation Phase of Spike Timing-Dependent Neuromodulation by a Serotonergic Interneuron Involves an Increase in the Fraction of Transmitter Release J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2007; 98(4): 1975 - 1987. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. M. Devilbiss and C. W. Berridge Low-Dose Methylphenidate Actions on Tonic and Phasic Locus Coeruleus Discharge J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., December 1, 2006; 319(3): 1327 - 1335. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. M. Devilbiss, M. E. Page, and B. D. Waterhouse Locus Ceruleus Regulates Sensory Encoding by Neurons and Networks in Waking Animals J. Neurosci., September 27, 2006; 26(39): 9860 - 9872. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. M. Solis and D. J. Perkel Noradrenergic Modulation of Activity in a Vocal Control Nucleus In Vitro J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2006; 95(4): 2265 - 2276. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. HOLMES, E. SHEA-BROWN, J. MOEHLIS, R. BOGACZ, J. GAO, G. ASTON-JONES, E. CLAYTON, J. RAJKOWSKI, and J. D. COHEN Optimal Decisions: From Neural Spikes, through Stochastic Differential Equations, to Behavior IEICE Trans A: Fundamentals, October 1, 2005; E88-A(10): 2496 - 2503. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. Cirelli, R. Huber, A. Gopalakrishnan, T. L. Southard, and G. Tononi Locus Ceruleus Control of Slow-Wave Homeostasis J. Neurosci., May 4, 2005; 25(18): 4503 - 4511. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help