{
  "abstract": "Pupillometry is often used as a proxy for locus coeruleus (LC) activity but whether this relationship changes across the lifespan is unknown. We collected simultaneous pupillometry and multi-echo fMRI in 89 adults aged 19-78 during a visual oddball task. Oddball-evoked pupillary responses were present in all age groups and largest in middle age. Oddball-evoked LC BOLD responses were detected only in younger adults and did not predict individual pupillary responses. Pupil size and its first derivative (pupil change) correlated with whole-brain BOLD on distinct timescales and in distinct spatial patterns. Against 19 PET maps, pupil derivative coupling correlated uniquely with norepinephrine transporter (NET) density, and pupil size-unique coupling with -opioid, cannabinoid CB1, and glutamatergic mGluR5 density. Only the pupil derivative-NET relationship weakened with age, though it remained significant in every group. Pupil size and pupil change therefore carry different information, and only pupil change correlates with activity in NET-rich regions across the lifespan.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Cornell University"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "E. Riley"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. De Rosa"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. K. Anderson"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8cp06dsz6xmyr.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.08.24.746786",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.24.746786v2.full",
  "id": "8cp06dsz6xmyr",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.24.746786v2",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2804|Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7204490036",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.24.746786v2.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-24",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8cp06dsz6xmyr.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:59Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.08.24.746786",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.24.746786v3"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Pupil size and pupil change correlate with distinct cortical neurochemical systems across the adult lifespan",
  "title_text": "Pupil size and pupil change correlate with distinct cortical neurochemical systems across the adult lifespan",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:26:24Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8cp06dsz6xmyr",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}