A report on Locus coeruleus

Rhomboid fossa. (Locus coeruleus not labeled, but is very near [just lateral to] the colliculus facialis, which is labeled at center left.)
Locus coeruleus and its influence pathways

Nucleus in the pons of the brainstem involved with physiological responses to stress and panic.

- Locus coeruleus
Rhomboid fossa. (Locus coeruleus not labeled, but is very near [just lateral to] the colliculus facialis, which is labeled at center left.)

27 related topics with Alpha

Overall
Skeletal formula of noradrenaline

Norepinephrine

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Organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as both a hormone and neurotransmitter.

Organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as both a hormone and neurotransmitter.

Skeletal formula of noradrenaline
Norepinephrine degradation. Metabolizing enzymes are shown in boxes.
Norepinephrine (labeled "noradrénaline" in this drawing) processing in a synapse. After release norepinephrine can either be taken up again by the presynaptic terminal, or broken down by enzymes.
Schema of the sympathetic nervous system, showing the sympathetic ganglia and the parts of the body to which they connect.
Brain areas containing noradrenergic neurons.
Chemical structure of octopamine, which serves as the homologue of norepinephrine in many invertebrate species

The most important of these nuclei is the locus coeruleus, located in the pons.

Service members use art to relieve PTSD symptoms.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

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Mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a person's life.

Mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a person's life.

Service members use art to relieve PTSD symptoms.
No quieren (They do not want to) by Francisco Goya (1746–1828) depicts an elderly woman wielding a knife in defense of a girl being assaulted by a soldier.
Regions of the brain associated with stress and post-traumatic stress disorder
The diagram depicts how emotions, thoughts, and behaviors all influence each other. The triangle in the middle represents CBT's tenet that all humans' core beliefs can be summed up in three categories: self, others, future.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Statue, Three Servicemen, Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Disability-adjusted life year rates for post-traumatic stress disorder per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004 no data < 43.5 43.5–45 45–46.5 46.5–48 48–49.5 49.5–51 51–52.5 52.5–54 54–55.5 55.5–57 57–58.5 > 58.5

The maintenance of fear has been shown to include the HPA axis, the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic systems, and the connections between the limbic system and frontal cortex.

Location of the amygdalae in the human brain

Amygdala

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One of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex vertebrates, including humans.

One of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex vertebrates, including humans.

Location of the amygdalae in the human brain
Human brain in the coronal orientation. Amygdalae are shown in dark red.
MRI coronal view of the right amygdala
Coronal section of brain through intermediate mass of third ventricle. Amygdala is shown in purple.
Rorschach test blot 03
Frontal and side view of amygdala
Amygdala along with other subcortical regions, in glass brain.
Dorsal view of the amygdala in an average human brain
Frontal view of the amygdala in an average human brain
Left lateral view of the amygdala in an average human brain
thumb|Amygdala highlighted in green on coronal T1 MRI images
thumb|Amygdala highlighted in green on sagittal T1 MRI images
thumb|Amygdala highlighted in green on transversal T1 MRI images

A simple view of the information processing through the amygdala follows as: the amygdala sends projections to the hypothalamus, the dorsomedial thalamus, the thalamic reticular nucleus, the nuclei of the trigeminal nerve and the facial nerve, the ventral tegmental area, the locus coeruleus, and the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus.

Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity's Gate) by Vincent van Gogh (1890)

Major depressive disorder

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Mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities.

Mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities.

Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity's Gate) by Vincent van Gogh (1890)
An 1892 lithograph of a woman diagnosed with melancholia
A cup analogy demonstrating the diathesis–stress model that under the same amount of stressors, person 2 is more vulnerable than person 1, because of their predisposition.
Caricature of a man with depression
Physical exercise is one recommended way to manage mild depression.
Sertraline (Zoloft) is used primarily to treat major depression in adults.
Diagnoses of depression go back at least as far as Hippocrates.
The 16th American president, Abraham Lincoln, had "melancholy", a condition that now may be referred to as clinical depression.

Third, decreased size of the locus coeruleus, decreased activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, increased density of alpha-2 adrenergic receptor, and evidence from rat models suggest decreased adrenergic neurotransmission in depression.

Location of the human hypothalamus

Hypothalamus

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Portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions.

Portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions.

Location of the human hypothalamus
Median sagittal section of brain of human embryo of three months
Endocrine glands in the human head and neck and their hormones
Cross-section of the monkey hypothalamus displays two of the major hypothalamic nuclei on either side of the fluid-filled third ventricle.
Hypothalamic nuclei
Hypothalamic nuclei on one side of the hypothalamus, shown in a 3-D computer reconstruction<ref>Brain Research Bulletin 35:323–327, 1994</ref>
Human brain left dissected midsagittal view
Location of the hypothalamus

The hypothalamus receives many inputs from the brainstem, the most notable from the nucleus of the solitary tract, the locus coeruleus, and the ventrolateral medulla.

Coronal section of the pons, at its upper part. (Formatio reticularis labeled at left.)

Reticular formation

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Set of interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem.

Set of interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem.

Coronal section of the pons, at its upper part. (Formatio reticularis labeled at left.)
A cross section of the lower part of the pons showing the pontine reticular formation labeled as #9
Ascending reticular activating system. Reticular formation labeled near center.
Spinal cord tracts - reticulospinal tract labeled in red, near-center at left in figure

The adrenergic component of the reticular activating system is closely associated with the noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus.

Humans have two hippocampi, one in each hemisphere of the brain. They are located in the medial temporal lobes of the cerebrum. In this lateral view of the human brain, the frontal lobe is at the left, the occipital lobe at the right, and the temporal and parietal lobes have largely been removed to reveal one of the hippocampi underneath.

Hippocampus

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Major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates.

Major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates.

Humans have two hippocampi, one in each hemisphere of the brain. They are located in the medial temporal lobes of the cerebrum. In this lateral view of the human brain, the frontal lobe is at the left, the occipital lobe at the right, and the temporal and parietal lobes have largely been removed to reveal one of the hippocampi underneath.
Image 1: The human hippocampus and fornix (left) compared with a seahorse (right)
Image 2: Cross-section of cerebral hemisphere showing structure and location of hippocampus
Image 3: Coronal section of the brain of a macaque monkey, showing hippocampus (circled)
Image 4: Basic circuit of the hippocampus, as drawn by Cajal DG: dentate gyrus. Sub: subiculum. EC: entorhinal cortex
Image 5: Hippocampal location and regions
Rats and cognitive maps
Image 6: Spatial firing patterns of 8 place cells recorded from the CA1 layer of a rat. The rat ran back and forth along an elevated track, stopping at each end to eat a small food reward. Dots indicate positions where action potentials were recorded, with color indicating which neuron emitted that action potential.
Image 7: Examples of rat hippocampal EEG and CA1 neural activity in the theta (awake/behaving) and LIA (slow-wave sleep) modes. Each plot shows 20 seconds of data, with a hippocampal EEG trace at the top, spike rasters from 40 simultaneously recorded CA1 pyramidal cells in the middle (each raster line represents a different cell), and a plot of running speed at the bottom. The top plot represents a time period during which the rat was actively searching for scattered food pellets. For the bottom plot the rat was asleep.
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Image 9: An EEG showing epilepsy right-hippocampal seizure onset
Image 10: An EEG showing epilepsy left-hippocampal seizure onset
Image 11: Drawing by Italian pathologist Camillo Golgi of a hippocampus stained using the silver nitrate method
thumb|Hippocampus highlighted in green on coronal T1 MRI images
thumb|Hippocampus highlighted in green on sagittal T1 MRI images
thumb|Hippocampus highlighted in green on transversal T1 MRI images

Different thalamic nuclei, (from the anterior and midline groups), the medial septal nucleus, the supramammillary nucleus of the hypothalamus, and the raphe nuclei and locus coeruleus of the brainstem all send axons to the EC, so that it serves as the interface between the neocortex and the other connections, and the hippocampus.

Schematic overview of the classes of stresses that plants are exposed to

Stress (biology)

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Organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition.

Organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition.

Schematic overview of the classes of stresses that plants are exposed to
Neuro-hormonal response to stress
A diagram of the General Adaptation Syndrome model.

Antishock phase: When the threat or stressor is identified or realized, the body starts to respond and is in a state of alarm. During this stage, the locus coeruleus and sympathetic nervous system activate the production of catecholamines including adrenaline, engaging the popularly-known fight-or-flight response. Adrenaline temporarily provides increased muscular tonus, increased blood pressure due to peripheral vasoconstriction and tachycardia, and increased glucose in blood. There is also some activation of the HPA axis, producing glucocorticoids (cortisol, aka the S-hormone or stress-hormone).

The three distinct parts of the brainstem are colored in this sagittal section of a human brain.

Brainstem

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Posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord.

Posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord.

The three distinct parts of the brainstem are colored in this sagittal section of a human brain.
3D Medical Animation Still Shot Showing Different Parts of Mid-Brain
Diagram showing the position of the colliculi. Superior shown in green and inferior in orange.
View of midbrain showing covering tectum and tegmental floor
The appearance of a cadaveric brainstem from the front, with major parts labelled
The appearance of a cadaveric brainstem from behind, with major parts labelled
The brainstem receives blood via the vertebral arteries, shown here.
A cross-section of the brainstem showing the multiple nuclei of the ten pairs of cranial nerves that emerge from it
Cross-section of the midbrain at the level of the superior colliculus
Cross-section of the midbrain at the level of the inferior colliculus
Cross-section of the middle pons (at the level of cranial nerve V)
Cross-section of the inferior pons (at the level of the facial genu)
Cross-section of the rostral (superior) medulla
Cross-section of the middle medulla
Cross-section of the inferior medulla
The midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata are labelled on this coronal section of the human brain.
thumb|3D visualization of the brainstem in an average human brain

Reticular formation: This is a large area in the midbrain that is involved in various important functions of the midbrain. In particular, it contains lower motor neurons, is involved in the pain desensitization pathway, is involved in the arousal and consciousness systems, and contains the locus coeruleus, which is involved in intensive alertness modulation and in autonomic reflexes.

Structures of the brainstem, the origin of the arousal system, viewed along the sagittal plane

Arousal

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Physiological and psychological state of being awoken or of sense organs stimulated to a point of perception.

Physiological and psychological state of being awoken or of sense organs stimulated to a point of perception.

Structures of the brainstem, the origin of the arousal system, viewed along the sagittal plane

The noradrenergic system is a bundle of axons that originate in the locus coeruleus and ascends up into the neocortex, limbic system, and basal forebrain.