Effects of phasic activation of locus coeruleus on cortical neural activity and auditory discrimination behavior

Although the locus ceruleus (LC) is recognized as a crucial modulator for attention and perception by releasing norepinephrine into various cortical regions, the impact of LC–noradrenergic (LC–NE) modulation on auditory discrimination behavior remains elusive. In this study, we firstly recorded local field potential and single-unit activity in multiple cortical regions associated with auditory–motor processing, including the auditory cortex, posterior parietal cortex, secondary motor cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), in response to optogenetic activation (40 Hz and 0.5 s) of the LC–NE neurons in awake mice (male). We found that phasic LC stimulation induced a persistent high gamma oscillation (50–80 Hz) in the OFC. Phasic activation of LC–NE neurons also resulted in a corresponding increase in norepinephrine levels in the OFC, accompanied by a pupillary dilation response. Furthermore, when mice were performing a go/no-go auditory discrimination task, we optogeneticaly activated the neural projections from LC to OFC and revealed a shortened latency in behavioral responses to sound stimuli and an increased false alarm rate. These impulsive behavioral responses may be associated with the gamma neural activity in the OFC. These findings have broadened our understanding of the neural mechanisms involved in the role of LC in auditory–motor processing.