Noradrenalin is also a major neurotransmitter, with noradrenergic neurons spreading from the brain stem to almost all brain areas and modulating the function of the prefrontal cortex (which uses working memory to regulate behaviour and attention), as well as having an important role in the acquisition of emotionally-arousing memories [ 59].
Instead of focusing on the receptors blocked by PCP, Dr. Schoepp concentrated on modulating the action of glutamate receptors in the brain's prefrontal cortex, an area responsible for personality and learning.
In the original FARS model, working memory and task-specific associations in prefrontal cortex bias grasp execution by modulating the grasp selection in F5 such that those grasps appropriate for the current task are selected.
This is known as "top-down processing," since the prefrontal cortex (the "top" of the brain) is directly modulating the activity of other areas.
Noradrenergic neurons that project from the locus coeruleus to the prefrontal cortex release norepinephrine which helps to guide behaviour by modulating the transfer of information through neuronal circuits that are responsible for selective and sustained attention [ 40].
In prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum DA is involved in the expression of synaptic plasticity by modulating the amount of long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD) of glutamatergic synapses [15], [16], [17], [18], [19].
Moreover, they indicate that the salience of unconditioned rewarding or aversive natural stimuli, graded by modulating the intrinsic properties of the stimulus or the motivational state of the organism, is directly related to the increase of prefrontal NE outflow.
The canvas grins through, modulating the whiteness.
Dopamine is further involved in memory processes by modulating neurons in the prefrontal cortex that are active during the delay interval between a stimulus presentation and a response [ 44], and may regulate working memory and attention [ 13, 45].
The subgenual prefrontal cortex modulates the affective output of limbic and paralimbic structures and cognitive output from the prefrontal cortex.
