Astrocytes, known for their roles in maintaining brain homeostasis, synaptic plasticity and information processing, have had an unclear relationship with the locus coeruleus, which is primarily associated with regulating arousal and attention. In 2008, Bekar et al. published a groundbreaking study titled ‘Locus coeruleus α-adrenergic-mediated activation of cortical astrocytes in vivo’ that investigated this relationship.