Norepinephrine (NE) is a neuromodulator that alters processing in nearly every brain area, leading to dynamic changes in behavior. NE plays a vital role in arousal, attention, stress, and memory formation through widespread neuronal projections. In this work, I will discuss the historical development of the NE research field, building to a picture of the modern view of diverse NE cell types within and around the LC. I will further document the experimental efforts by myself and my colleagues over the last two years toward elucidating this diversity of cellular function in the NE signaling network.