File:BBouret LC anat1.jpg

Connections of the locus coeruleus in the rat: Schematical representation of locus coeruleus outputs (blue arrows) and inputs (red arrows) in the rat. Locus coeruleus neurons innervates a vast number of brain structures including the thalamus (thal), subcortical limbic structures such as the amygdala (basolateral complex, BLA) and the hippocampus, Hipp), the entire cerebral cortex (Cx) and the olfactory bulb (OB). The locus coeruleus is innervated by a limited set of structures including the paragigantocellularis nucleus (PGi), the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), as well as orbital and ventromedial frontal cortices (FCx). Inset: photomicrograph of the locus coeruleus. Note the microlesion (*) in the dorsal part of the nucleus. IV: fourth ventricule