The ability to retrieve memory store in response to the environment is 1 essential for animal behavioral adaptation. Norepinephrine (NE)-containing neurons in 2 the brain play a key role in the modulation of synaptic plasticity underlying various 3 processes of memory formation. However, the role of the central NE system in memory 4 retrieval remains unclear. In this study we developed a neural chemogenetic activation 5 strategy using insect olfactory Ionotropic Receptors (IRs), which we used it for selective 6 stimulation of NE neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) in transgenic mice. 7 Ligand-induced activation of LC NE neurons resulted in enhancement of the retrieval 8 process of conditioned taste aversion, which was mediated through at least partly 9 adrenergic receptors in the amygdala. Pharmacological blockade of LC activity 10 confirmed the facilitative role of these neurons in memory retrieval. Our findings 11 indicate that the LC-amygdalar pathway is required and sufficient for enhancing the 12 recall of taste associative memory. 13 14 National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111:5584-5592. DOI: 1 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1421304111 2 Kempadoo KA, Mosharov EV, Choi SJ, Sulzer D, Kandel ER. 2016. Dopamine release 3 from the locus coeruleus to the dorsal hippocampus promotes spatial learning and 4 memory. Klein SB, Nichols S. 2012. Memory and the sense of personal identity. Mind 7 121:677-702.