Noradrenaline (also called norepinephrine) is a neurotransmitter primarily found within neurons in the locus coeruleus1,2
Noradrenaline and the locus coeruleus are thought to have important input into the control the CNS exerts over cognition, memory, stress response, arousal, pain, and other functions.5-7 Malfunction of the locus coeruleus is thought to underlie disorders such as depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.5 In addition, abnormalities in the noradrenergic projection to the hypothalamus – which mediates stress response – are thought to be involved in the pathology of depressive and anxiety disorders.8
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The gustatory system detects taste stimuli on the tongue and relays this information through brainstem and thalamic pathways to the gustatory cortex.