Some electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of the cortical, noradrenergic projection of the locus coeruleus in the rat

The effect of repetitive stimulation of the locus coeruleus (LC) on the discharge rate of spontaneously active neurons of the visual, rostral and cingulate cortex was investigated in untreated and catecholamine-depleted rats under chloral hydrate anesthesia. In untreated animals, the inhibitory transsynaptic effects predominated over the excitatory ones. In catecholamine-depleted rats, the percentage of inhibited cells was significantly reducted in all areas. The vast majority of spontaneously active neurons in all cortical regions was depressed by microiontophoretically applied noradrenaline (NA). A few cells were resistant to NA; no excitatory effects were noticed on any cell. The transsynaptically mediated depression of the discharge rate of cells in all three cortical areas was reversibly antagonized by the iontophoretically administered beta-receptor blocking drug practolol. On the contrary the a-receptor blocking drugs piperoxane and WB4101 were ineffective in this respect. Thus, we tentatively conclude from these data that the NA-elicited depression of cells in the cortex is mediated by a receptor of the beta-type. Repetitive stimulation of the reticular formation elicited a desynchronizing effect on the EEG of chloral hydrate anaesthetized rats. LC stimulation, in contrast, hardly produced any modification of the EEG as judged by visual examination of the recordings.