Karel Svoboda

Stories

Brain's 'blue spot' sends targeted messages, not broadcasts

Study co-author

For decades, neuroscientists assumed the brain's 'blue spot', a tiny cluster of cells in the brainstem, worked like a foghorn, blasting the same chemical signal everywhere. A study from the Allen Institute in Nature shows it is closer to a targeted postal network, sending specific messages along specific routes.

Updated Oct 30

Notable Quotes

The findings suggest the brain's norepinephrine system is far more like a targeted postal network than a foghorn.

from Brain's 'blue spot' sends targeted messages, not broadcasts · Updated Oct 30

What emerged was a clear map: neurons in the dorsal LC that send signals upward to the cortex are involved in learning, whereas neurons in the ventral region projecting downward to the brainstem and spinal cord govern whether animals engage with their environment at all.

from Brain's 'blue spot' sends targeted messages, not broadcasts · Updated Oct 30