Functional indicators of a decline in the noradrenergic locus coeruleus in ageing

Background Postmortem studies show that the locus coeruleus (LC), the major source of cortical noradrenergic projections, exhibits evidence of neurodegeneration early in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Indeed, the noradrenergic system is more affected than the dopaminergic or cholinergic ones. Albeit to a smaller extent, neuronal loss in the LC is also seen in cognitively normal older adults, which can in some cases reflect the earliest stages of AD...