A new study in Nature, co-first authored by Dr. Li Li, assistant professor of pediatric anesthesiology, and Dr. Andrew Luskin, a former UW graduate student and current postdoctoral fellow at the Rockefeller University, advances our understanding of how the brain regulates arousal, attention, and responses to stress and fear. These findings open the possibility of new ways to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, said Li, who studies opioid drug withdrawal.
The team used a technique called single-cell RNA sequencing to identify the different types of neurons in the locus coeruleus and peri-LC, and another technique called pixel-seq to map their exact locations. These investigations revealed that both the locus coeruleus and peri-LC have distinct subpopulations of cells, likely with different functions.
“During withdrawal, for example, we know the locus coeruleus becomes hyperactive,” Li said. “With these findings we may be able to identify drug targets either in the locus coeruleus or the peri-LC that will reduce withdrawal symptoms.”
The paper provides researchers with what senior author Dr. Michael Bruchas described as a “detailed roadmap” for studying the locus coeruleus and peri-LC.
“The finding shows us who the key players are, how they connect, and the neurotransmitters involved,” he said. “It will open a lot of doors for a lot of labs.”
Learn more about the recent paper published by the Bruchas Lab research team in Nature Magazine: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08952-w
Pictured above: Dr. Li Li, assistant professor of pediatric anesthesiology at the University of Washington