Fig. 3.

CAV2-PRS-ChR2-mCherry retrogradely transduces NAergic neurons within the pons. (A) Direct injection of CAV2-PRS-mCherry-ChR2 to the LC transduced NAergic neurons locally and also retrogradely transduced neurons in the contralateral LC and in the A7 and A5 cell groups both ipsilaterally and contralaterally. Additionally axon fibers were anterogradely filled with mCherry seen ascending through the pons from the LC through to the midbrain (in the Dorsal noradrenergic bundle (DNB) and also descended to reach the spinal cord. (B) Shows numbers of retrogradely transduced neurons across the noradrenergic cell groups (n=3 rats, mean ±SEM, cell counts Abercrombie corrected). All photomicrographs show native mCherry fluorescence converted to inverted grayscale for clarity.