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Norepinephrine and Synaptic Transmission in the Cerebellum

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Book cover Handbook of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders

Abstract

Although the presence of norepinephrine (NE) in the mammalian cerebellum was initially controversial, there is now substantial evidence of a role for the NE system in modulating the response properties of individual cerebellar neurons to synaptic inputs rather than transmitting moment-to-moment details of modality specific information. As a result of these cellular actions, the system is capable of regulating cerebellar circuit functions within the context of ongoing voluntary and reflex motor activities and in a manner appropriate to the behavioral state of the organism. The evidence for this mode of operation derives from extensive anatomical, physiological, and pharmacological investigations over a period of more than 40 years. This chapter summarizes those studies and the development of this concept.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, 2900 Queen Lane, Philadelphia, PA, 19129, USA

    Dr. Daniel J. Chandler, Dr. Shevon E. Nicholson, Dr. Gerard Zitnik & Prof. Barry D. Waterhouse

Authors
  1. Dr. Daniel J. Chandler
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  2. Dr. Shevon E. Nicholson
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  3. Dr. Gerard Zitnik
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  4. Prof. Barry D. Waterhouse
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel J. Chandler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Unité d'Etude du Mouvement (UEM), FNRS, Neurologie ULB Erasme, Bruxelles, Belgium

    Mario Manto

  2. Ataxia Unit, Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jeremy D. Schmahmann

  3. Neuroscience Institute of the Cavalieri-Ottolenghi Foundation (NICO), University of Turin, Orbassano, Turin, Italy

    Ferdinando Rossi

  4. Molecular and Integrative Neuroscience Department (MIND), The Scripps Research Institute, California, CA, USA

    Donna L. Gruol

  5. Department of Integrative Physiolgy, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan

    Noriyuki Koibuchi

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Chandler, D.J., Nicholson, S.E., Zitnik, G., Waterhouse, B.D. (2013). Norepinephrine and Synaptic Transmission in the Cerebellum. In: Manto, M., Schmahmann, J.D., Rossi, F., Gruol, D.L., Koibuchi, N. (eds) Handbook of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1333-8_37

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