clm-qdga0y8c9w

LC (Locus ceruleus) functionally connects to VTA (Ventral tegmental area)

Species: Rat
Result: present
Method: optogenetic circuit mapping
Sign: unknown
Evidence: Optogenetic 10-Hz phasic activation of ChR2-expressing locus coeruleus neurons paired with an odor raised the number of cFos-positive cells in the ventral tegmental area and the fraction of tyrosine-hydroxylase-positive VTA neurons expressing cFos, relative to odor-only controls; 10-Hz tonic activation of the same site produced no such increase.
Source: Locus Coeruleus Activation Patterns Differentially Modulate Odor Discrimination Learning and Odor Valence in Rats
Cerebral Cortex Communications, 2021
DOI 10.1093/texcom/tgab026 · PubMed 34296171 · PMC8152946, Fig. 4D–H
Licence: CC-BY-4.0
Named in the paper: “LC” and “VTA”
Made by: an AI model reading the paper (claude-opus-5, extract@0.3.0), 2026-10-09
Checked by: a second AI model (claude-opus-5) agrees, 2026-10-09
“Fig. 4D–H shows phasic but not tonic LC light increased VTA cFos and TH+/cFos+ cells.”
Status: proposed
Drafted and checked by AI models; it stays proposed until people have audited a sample of such claims.