Locus coeruleus norepinephrine contributes to visual-spatial attention by selectively enhancing perceptual sensitivity

Selectively focusing on a behaviorally relevant stimulus while ignoring irrelevant stimuli improves perception. Enhanced neuronal response gain is thought to support attention-related improvements in detection and discrimination. However, understanding of the neuronal pathways regulating perceptual sensitivity remains limited. Here, we report that responses of norepinephrine (NE) neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) of non-human primates to behaviorally relevant sensory stimuli promote visual discrimination in a spatially selective way. LC-NE neurons spike in response to a visual stimulus appearing in the contralateral hemifield only when that stimulus is attended. This spiking is associated with enhanced behavioral sensitivity, is independent of motor control, and is absent on error trials. Furthermore, optogenetically activating LC-NE neurons selectively improves monkeys' contralateral stimulus detection without affecting motor criteria, supporting NE's causal role in granular cognitive control of selective attention at a cellular level, beyond its known diffuse and non-selective functions.