ScienceDaily highlighted an editorial coauthored by Mara Mather on how the locus coeruleus region of the brain, also known as the “blue spot,” helps focus attention on relevant information. “Due to its small size and its location deep in the brainstem, it was previously almost impossible to investigate the noradrenergic nucleus non-invasively in living humans. Fortunately, over the past years, animal research has revealed that fluctuations in pupil size are linked to the activity of the blue spot. Thus, our eyes can be regarded as a window to a brain region that long seemed inaccessible,” Mather said.
