Dictionary of Biological Psychology
(from Latin, locus: place, coeruleus: sky blue) The locus coeruleus, so named after its slightly bluish colour in fresh human brain sections, is located in the dorsal PONS and contains about 12000 neurons on each side in humans.
This small collection of neurons is, astonishingly, the major source of NORADRENALINE in most structures in the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. While their projections are topographically (see TOPOGRAPHY) organized, many locus coeruleus neurons in-nervate more than one target, sometimes widely separated structures such as the CEREBRAL CORTEX and CEREBELLUM. The locus coeruleus is implicated in the modulation of sensory, motor and autonomic functions, as well as AROUSAL and ATTENTION.
See also: ascending reticular activating system; dorsal noradrenergic bundle; reticular formation; sleep; ventral noradrenergic bundle
KAZUE SEMBA
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