Norepinephrine Signals Through Astrocytes To Modulate Synapses.

Locus coeruleus (LC)-derived norepinephrine (NE) drives network and behavioral adaptations to environmental saliencies by reconfiguring circuit connectivity, but the underlying synapse-level mechanisms are elusive. Here, we show that NE remodeling of synaptic function is independent from its binding on neuronal receptors. Instead, astrocytic adrenergic receptors and Ca dynamics fully gate the effect of NE on synapses as the astrocyte-specific deletion of adrenergic receptors and three independent astrocyte-silencing approaches all render synapses insensitive to NE.

A Modular Setup to Run a Large Line of Behavioral Testing in Mice in a Single Space.

Elucidating the complex neural mechanisms that underlie cognition is contingent upon our ability to measure behavioral outputs reliably in animal models. While the development of open-source software has made behavioral science more accessible, behavioral research remains underappreciated and underutilized. One reason is the large real estate necessitated by traditional behavioral setups.