# Locus Coeruleus-Norepinephrine Modulation of Sensory Response and Tactile Perception

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE · 2020 · $331,645

## Abstract

The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system has been proposed to have a critical role in
regulating cognitive behavior, including arousal, perception, and decision making. However, we have limited
understanding of how LC-NE modulates even simple aspects of sensory processing during perceptual behavior.
Therefore, determining the fundamental neurobiology of LC-NE during quantitative perceptual behavior is a
crucial first step toward understanding its role in modulating higher cognitive functions and neurological disorders.
Uniquely, we have overcome several key technical limitations which have impeded fundamental mechanistic
understanding of LC-NE functions. These limitations include the inability to record from chemically-defined LC-
NE neurons during behavior, and the difficulty of quantifying their modulatory effects on target neurons. This
proposal will test the central hypothesis that LC-NE differentially modulates cortical excitatory and inhibitory
responses to facilitate sensory perception. We will determine: How does LC-NE influence behavioral outcomes?
How does LC-NE modulate neuronal activity in the primary somatosensory cortex? The proposed research is
innovative, in our opinion, because it allows recording and perturbing chemically-defined LC-NE neurons while
simultaneously monitoring their target neurons in the cortex, during a quantitative perceptual task. This approach
represents a substantive departure from the status quo. Combining dual-electrophysiological recordings,
optogenetic gain-/loss-of-function, and well-controlled behavior, this novel approach allows investigating
previously inaccessible mechanisms of LC-NE modulation in awake behaving mice. The research is significant
because it is expected to fundamentally advance our understanding of LC-NE functions by establishing
mechanistic links between LC-NE modulation of cortical sensory response and its modulation of perceptual
decisions. The new techniques can be adapted to other neuromodulatory systems, and are expected to
contribute to a broader understanding of brain functions. The results and new methods have the potential to help
better understand LC-NE functions in higher cognitive processes, and to facilitate the development of therapeutic
methods to treat neurological disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9894870
- **Project number:** 5R01NS107355-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
- **Principal Investigator:** Hongdian Yang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $331,645
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-15 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9894870

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9894870, Locus Coeruleus-Norepinephrine Modulation of Sensory Response and Tactile Perception (5R01NS107355-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9894870. Licensed CC0.

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