title: Locus coeruleus reports changes in environmental contingencies.
abstract: The GANE (glutamate amplifies noradrenergic effects) model proposed by Mather et al. attempts to explain how norepinephrine enhances processing in highly activated brain regions. Careful perusal of the sparse data available from recording studies in animals reveals that noradrenergic neurons are excited mainly by any change in the environment - a salient, novel, or unexpected sensory stimulus or a change in behavioral contingencies. This begets the "network reset hypothesis" supporting the notion that norepinephrine promotes rapid cognitive and behavioral adaption.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology,CNRS UMR 7142,Collège de France,75005 Paris,Francesusan.sara@college-de-france.fr.
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Sara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004777:Environment; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D008125:Locus Coeruleus / Q000502:physiology*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018698:Glutamic Acid; D009638:Norepinephrine