The locus coeruleus is a small blue-grey nucleus in the upper pons and the brain's main source of noradrenaline. Its few thousand neurons send branching fibres to almost the entire central nervous system. It raises alertness, sharpens attention and drives the brain's response to stress.
| Location | Upper pons, in the floor of the fourth ventricle near its lateral edge, just below the cerebral aqueduct |
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| Blood Supply | Superior cerebellar artery; Basilar artery pontine branches |
Releases noradrenaline widely to promote wakefulness and vigilance, tune attention and memory, and coordinate the stress and fight or flight response.
The locus coeruleus is one of the earliest sites to show tau changes in Alzheimer disease and loses neurons in Parkinson disease. Opioid withdrawal produces overactivity here, which clonidine and lofexidine help reduce. Many antidepressants and attention medicines act on noradrenaline systems that arise from this nucleus.
Rebound overactivity of locus coeruleus neurons after stopping opioids, causing anxiety, sweating, tachycardia and agitation.
Early loss of locus coeruleus neurons contributing to sleep, attention and mood symptoms in these diseases.
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