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This small nucleus contains almost half of all the brain neurons that use norepinephrine as a neurotransmitter. The locus coeruleus also projects its axons to those parts of the brain that may be associated with panic disorders (the amygdala, hippocampus, septum, cortex, brainstem, reticular formation, etc). Stimulating an animal's locus coeruleus, like stimulating its amygdala, produces anxiety behaviours.
Scientists have made a recent breakthrough concerning how anxiety is regulated in the vertebrate brain. Their work may show how the brain normally shuts off anxiety, that is, by disrupting a specific set of neurons in the habenula brain region, which prevents normal response to stressful situations.