Spontaneous discharge of norepinephrine-containing locus coeruleus (NE-LC) neurons was examined during the sleep-walking cycle (S-WC) in behaving rats. Single unit and multiple unit extracellular recordings yielded a consistent set of characteristic discharge properties. (1) Tonic discharge co-varied with stages of the S-WC, being highest during waking, lower during slow wave sleep, and virtually absent during paradoxical sleep. (2) Discharge anticipated S-WC stages as well as phasic cortical activity, such as spindles, during slow wave sleep. (3) Discharge decreased within active waking during grooming and sweet water consumption. (4) Bursts of impulses accompanied spontaneous or sensory-evoked interruptions of sleep, grooming, consumption, or other such ongoing behavior. (5) These characteristic discharge properties were topographically homogeneous for recordings throughout the NE-LC. (6) Phasic robust activity was synchronized markedly among neurons in multiple unit populations. (7) Field potentials occurred spontaneously in the NE-LC and were synchronized with bursts of unit activity from the same electrodes. (8) Field potentials became dissociated from unit activity during paradoxical sleep, exhibiting their highest rates in the virtual absence of impulses. These results are generally consistent with previous proposals that the NE-LC system is involved in regulating cortical and behavioral arousal. On the basis of the present data and those described in the following report (Aston-Jones, G., and F. E. Bloom (1981) J. Neurosci.1: 887-900), we conclude that these neurons may mediate a specific function within the general arousal framework. In brief, the NE-LC system may globally bias the responsiveness of target neurons and thereby influence overall behavioral orientation.

https://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/1/8/876.full.pdf

Activity of norepinephrine-containing locus coeruleus neurons in behaving rats anticipates fluctuations in the sleep-waking cycle

Nucleus locus ceruleus: new evidence of anatomical and physiological specificity

Preface .............................................................. 649

The functional states of the thalamus and the associated neuronal interplay.

The sections in this article are:


1
Biomechanical and Electromyographical Information
1.1
Single Limb During Locomotion

1.2
Interlimb Coordination

1.3
Treadmill Versus Overground Locomotion

1.4
Trunk Movements During Locomotion

1.5
Pathological Gaits

1.6
Summary




2
Neural Generation of “Basic Locomotor Synergy”
2.1
Central Versus Peripheral

2.2
Parts of CNS of Primary Importance for Neural Control of Basic Locomotor Synergy

2.3
Spinal Centers for Locomotion—Behavioral Results

2.4
Reflex Control of Basic Locomotor Synergy

2.5
Activity in Certain Spinal, Cerebellar, and Brain Stem Neurons and in Certain Reflex Pathways During Locomotion

2.6
Cerebellum and Locomotion

2.7
Initiation of Locomotion—Brain Stem Circuitry

2.8
Central Organization of Spinal Pattern Generation

2.9
Possible Rhythm-Generating Mechanisms and Models—Facts and Fiction

2.10
Developmental Aspects

2.11
Summary




3
Adapting Basic Locomotor Synergy to Animal's Needs
3.1
Changing Speed

3.2
Goal-Directed Locomotion—Turning and Walking Along Curvatures

3.3
Modifications of “Locomotor Posture”

3.4
Positioning of Limb in Each Step

3.5
Reflex Adaptation of Step

3.6
Summary




4
Concluding Remarks

Control of Locomotion in Bipeds, Tetrapods, and Fish

Efferent connections of the parabrachial nucleus in the rat.

The catecholamine-containing neurons in the cat dorsolateral pontine tegmentum: Distribution of the cell bodies and some axonal projections

Single catecholamine-containing neurons in the dorso-lateral pontine tegmentum were recorded in unanesthetized, freely behaving cats. Microscopic lesions were made on each recorded unit and subsequently identified for catecholamines by fluorescence histochemical analysis. The majority of the NE-containing neurons exhibited low spontaneous discharge rates in quiet wakefulness and in slow wave sleep. In paradoxical sleep, the medially located NE-containing neurons tend to exhibit ursting discharges which are closely related to individual PGO waves. The laterally or dorsally situated NE units fire more slowly and tend to derease their firing activity during paradoxical sleep. Tonically active, relatively fast NE-containing units were also found. Often, those neurons showed greatly increased activity before the cat awoke from either slow wave sleep or paradoxical sleep, with activity persisting during the early moments of waking. The combination of histochemical and electrophysiologic methods proved essential for correlating neurochemistry and function within the heterogeneous NE-containing nuclei of the cat pons.

Activity patterns of catecholamine-containing pontine neurons in the dorso-lateral tegmentum of unrestrained cats

Norepinephrine-containing neurons of the locus coeruleus of the cat were recorded with microelectrodes during unrestrained sleeping and waking. The recorded neurons were subsequently defined by combined fluorescence histochemistry of catecholamines and production of microlesions at recording sites. These pontine units show homogeneous changes in discharge patterns with respect to sleep stages, firing slowly during drowsy periods and slow wave sleep and firing in rapid bursts during paradoxical sleep. These data provide a direct correlation between the activity of defined catecholamine-containing neurons and the spontaneous occurrence of sleep stages.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/179/4076/908.full.pdf

Nai-Shin Chu

Papers

The catecholamine-containing neurons in the cat dorsolateral pontine tegmentum: Distribution of the cell bodies and some axonal projections

Activity patterns of catecholamine-containing pontine neurons in the dorso-lateral tegmentum of unrestrained cats

Norepinephrine-containing neurons: changes in spontaneous discharge patterns during sleeping and waking.

Cytochemical and pharmacological studies on polysensory neurons in the primate frontal cortex.