Noradrenaline modulates neuronal and perceptual visual detectability via β-adrenergic receptor.

Rationale: Noradrenaline (NA) is a neuromodulator secreted from noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus to the whole brain depending on the physiological state and behavioral context. It regulates various brain functions including vision via three major adrenergic receptor (AR) subtypes. Previous studies investigating the noradrenergic modulations on vision reported different effects, including improvement and impairment of perceptual visual sensitivity in rodents via β-AR, an AR subtype.

Differences in Mechanical Parameters of Keyboard Switches Modulate Motor Preparation: A Wearable EEG Study.

The mechanical parameters of keyboard switches affect the psychological sense of pressing. The effects of different mechanical parameters on psychological sense have been quantified using questionnaires, but these subjective evaluations are unable to fully clarify the modulation of information processing in the brain due to these differences. This study aimed to elucidate the ability of electroencephalography (EEG) measurements to detect the modulation of subconscious information processing according to mechanical parameter values.

Serotonin improves behavioral contrast sensitivity of freely moving rats.

Serotonin (5-HT) is a neuromodulator secreted from serotonergic neurons located in the pons and upper brain stem in a behavioral context-dependent manner. The serotonergic axon terminals innervate almost the whole brain, causing modulatory actions on various brain functions including vision. Our previous study demonstrated the visual responses of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) of anesthetized monkeys were modulated by the activation of 5-HT receptors depending on the response magnitude, in which 5-HT2A receptor-selective agonists enhanced weak visual responses but not strong responses.

Caffeine improves contrast sensitivity of freely moving rats.

Caffeine (1, 3, 7-trimethylxanthine) is a well-known central nervous system stimulant that affects various brain functions such as attention, memory and sensation. However, it remains unclear whether and how caffeine modulates visual ability such as contrast sensitivity (CS) and the CS-spatial frequency (SF) relationship. To investigate these points, we tested the effects of caffeine on the perceptual CS of rats under three SF conditions.

Noradrenaline Improves Behavioral Contrast Sensitivity via the β-Adrenergic Receptor.

Noradrenaline (NA) is released from the locus coeruleus in the brainstem to almost the whole brain depending on the physiological state or behavioral context. NA modulates various brain functions including vision, but many questions about the functional role of its effects and mechanisms remain unclear. To explore these matters, we focused on three questions, 1) whether NA improves detectability of a behavior-relevant visual stimulus, 2) which receptor subtypes contribute to the NA effects, and 3) whether the NA effects are specific for visual features such as spatial frequency (SF).

Cholinergic and serotonergic modulation of visual information processing in monkey V1.

The brain dynamically changes its input-output relationship depending on the behavioral state and context in order to optimize information processing. At the molecular level, cholinergic/monoaminergic transmitters have been extensively studied as key players for the state/context-dependent modulation of brain function. In this paper, we review how cortical visual information processing in the primary visual cortex (V1) of macaque monkey, which has a highly differentiated laminar structure, is optimized by serotonergic and cholinergic systems by examining anatomical and in vivo electrophysiological aspects to highlight their similarities and distinctions.