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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.02.05.704005

Age-related reconfiguration of locus coeruleus-cortical functional organization

Dave, A.·Ye, S.·Lan, X.·Salami, A.·Jacobs, H.·Ziaei, M.
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Abstract

The locus coeruleus (LC) regulates attention, arousal, and adaptive behavior via widespread noradrenergic projections to cortex, yet its large-scale cortical organization and age-related vulnerability remain poorly understood. Using 7T MRI during naturalistic movie-viewing with neutral and negative emotional valence, study-specific LC delineation, and PET-derived receptor-transporter maps, we characterized LC-linked cortical organization in younger and older adults. Functional gradient analysis revealed two dominant axes: a stable primary gradient anchored by catecholaminergic receptor-transporter distributions, and a context-sensitive secondary gradient aligning with the visual-somatomotor (V-S) axis in neutral movie-viewing and the sensorimotor-association (S-A) axis in negative movie-viewing. During negative movie-viewing, older adults exhibited higher global and within-frontoparietal control network dispersion, indicating reduced functional differentiation, a pattern further associated with poorer emotional wellbeing. By revealing chemoarchitectural and context-sensitive LC-linked cortical organization, current work identifies mechanisms underlying age-related LC-linked cortical reorganization with consequences for mental health.

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Dave, A., Ye, S., Lan, X., Salami, A., Jacobs, H., Ziaei, M.. 2026-02-09. Age-related reconfiguration of locus coeruleus-cortical functional organization. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.05.704005

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