Noradrenaline drives learning across scales of time and neurobiological organisation.

Abstract

The noradrenergic system plays a diverse role in learning, from optimising learning behaviour to modulating plasticity. Work bridging across micro- and macroscale levels is revealing how noradrenaline achieves this diverse role in learning. Through its balance of targeted versus broad modulation of neurons and non-neuronal astrocytes, the noradrenergic system acts across multiple neurobiological and temporal scales to support adaptive learning. With a multiscale organisation that constrains behaviour and brain dynamics based on value-laden information, and the capacity to bridge the fast neural timescales of milliseconds with the slower timescales of natural behaviour, the noradrenergic system acts as an 'orchestra conductor' coordinating learning across scales.