An international team of researchers has provided valuable insights into the brain's noradrenaline (NA) system, which has been a longtime target for medications to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety.
Equally important beyond the findings is the groundbreaking methodology that the researchers developed to record real-time chemical activity from standard clinical electrodes which are routinely implanted for epilepsy monitoring.
Read Montague, co-corresponding and senior author of the study, the VTC Vernon Mountcastle research professor at Virginia Tech, and director of the Center for Human Neuroscience Research and the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC The team's initial approaches required the insertion of exclusive carbon-fiber electrodes designed at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute into awake patients receiving deep brain stimulation surgery for Parkinson's disease or other disorders.
Related StoriesThe NA system originates in a small midbrain nucleus known as the locus coeruleus , and it has long been a focal point for developing medications aimed at addressing conditions like ADHD, depression, and anxiety. As expected, NA levels correlated with emotional intensity, particularly during encounters with unexpected images, underscoring the NA system's significance in conditions like ADHD.