Locus Ceruleus and Anterior Cingulate Cortex Sustain Wakefulness in a Novel Environment

Locus ceruleus (LC) neuronal activity is correlated with the waking state, yet LC lesions produce only minor alterations in daily wakefulness. Here, we report that sustained elevations in neurobehavioral and EEG arousal in response to exposure to an environment with novel stimuli, including social interaction, are prevented by selective chemical lesions of the LC in rats. Similar results are seen when the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which receives especially dense LC innervation, is selectively denervated of LC input or is ablated by the cell-specific neurotoxin ibotenic acid. Anterograde tracing combined with tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry demonstrates ACC terminals in apposition with the distal dendrites of LC neurons. Our data implicate the ACC as both a source of input to the LC as well as one of its targets and suggests that the two structures engage in a dialog that may provide a critical neurobiological substrate for sustained attention.