Acetylcholine (ACh) regulates network operation in the hippocampus by controlling excitation and inhibition in rat CA1 pyramidal neurons (PCs), the latter through gamma-aminobutyric acid type-A receptors (GABA A Rs). Although, the enhancing effects of ACh on GABA A Rs have been reported (Dominguez et al., 2014, 2015), its role in regulating tonic GABAA inhibition has not been explored in depth....

–The GABAA receptor is a ligand-operated chloride channel. It has a pentameric structure. In mammalian brain different subunits are recruited from four gene subfamilies. Using immunocytochemistry, we investigated the distribution of the 13 GABAA receptor subunits in the hippocampus of the rat. GABAA receptor subunits were heterogeneously distributed within different hippocampal subfields. High ...

GABAA receptors distributed in somatodendritic compartments play critical roles in regulating neuronal activities, including spike timing and firing pattern; however, the properties and functions of GABAA receptors at the axon are still poorly understood. By recording from the cut end (bleb) of the main axon trunk of layer -5 pyramidal neurons in prefrontal cortical slices, we found that curren...

SCOPE GABAA receptors are modulated by Sideritis extracts. The aim of this study was to identify single substances from Sideritis extracts responsible for GABAA receptor modulation. METHODS AND RESULTS Single volatile substances identified by GC have been tested in two expression systems, Xenopus oocytes and human embryonic kidney cells. Some of these substances, especially carvacrol, were hi...

Presynaptic nerve terminals of inhibitory synapses in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord and brain stem can release both GABA and glycine, leading to coactivation of postsynaptic GABAA and glycine receptors. In the present study we have analyzed functional interactions between GABAA and glycine receptors in acutely dissociated neurons from rat sacral dorsal commissural nucleus. Although the app...

Increasing hepatocyte membrane potentials by augmenting GABAergic activity inhibits nonmalignant hepatocyte proliferative activity. The objectives of this study were to document 1) potential differences (PDs) of four malignant hepatocyte cell lines, 2) GABAA receptor mRNA expression in the same cell lines, and 3) effects of restoring malignant hepatocyte PDs to levels approximating those of res...

GABAA receptors are the main fast inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors in the mammalian brain, and targets for many clinically important drugs widely used in the treatment of anxiety disorders, insomnia and in anesthesia. Nonetheless, there are significant risks associated with the long-term use of these drugs particularly related to development of tolerance and addiction. Addictive mechanisms...

20 The terminal nerve (TN)-gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons have been 21 suggested to function as a neuromodulatory system that regulates the motivational and 22 arousal state of the animal and have served as a model system for the study of GnRH 23 neuron physiology. To investigate the synaptic control of the TN-GnRH neurons, we 24 analyzed electrophysiologically the effect of GABA...

Domestic Mongolian gerbils, a model of inherited epilepsy, begin having spontaneous seizures at ~1.5 months of age, making it possible to evaluate them during epileptic and pre-epileptic stages. Previous studies have shown that GABA-binding is reduced in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) of both epileptic and pre-epileptic gerbils compared with controls, suggesting that reduced express...

Certain anesthetics exhibit neurotoxicity in the brains of immature but not mature animals. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the adult brain, is excitatory on immature neurons via its action at the GABAA receptor, due to a reversed transmembrane chloride gradient. GABAA receptor activation in immature neurons is sufficient to open L-type voltage-gated c...