Zarnowska ED, Keist R, Rudolph U, Pearce RA. GABAA receptor 5 subunits contribute to GABAA,slow synaptic inhibition in mouse hippocampus. J Neurophysiol 101: 1179–1191, 2009. First published December 10, 2008; doi:10.1152/jn.91203.2008. -Aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor 5 subunits, which are heavily expressed in the hippocampus, are potential drug targets for improving cognitive functi...

We discovered in slices of rat visual cortex that reliable long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic responses in layer III could be elicited by theta burst stimulation delivered to a site in the middle of the cortical thickness, corresponding mainly to layer IV. This synaptic plasticity was reflected in the extracellular field potentials and intracellular EPSPs in layer III, but was not observe...

The dopamine D3 receptor, which is highly enriched in nucleus accumbens (NAc), has been suggested to play an important role in reinforcement and reward. To understand the potential cellular mechanism underlying D3 receptor functions, we examined the effect of D3 receptor activation on GABAA receptor (GABAAR)-mediated current and inhibitory synaptic transmission in medium spiny neurons of NAc. A...

We identified a de novo missense mutation, P302L, in the γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor γ2 subunit gene GABRG2 in a patient with Dravet syndrome using targeted next-generation sequencing. The mutation was in the cytoplasmic portion of the transmembrane segment M2 of the γ2 subunit that faces the pore lumen. GABAA receptor α1 and β3 subunits were coexpressed with wild-type (wt) γ2L ...

We previously reported greater GABAA receptor-mediated tonic currents in D2+ striatopallidal than D1+ striatonigral medium spiny neurons (MSNs) are mediated by alpha5-subunit-containing receptors. Here, we used whole-cell recordings in slices from bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic mice to investigate the link between subunit composition, phosphorylation, and dopamine receptor activatio...

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons are the central regulators of reproduction. GABAergic transmission plays a critical role in pubertal activation of pulsatile GnRH secretion. Self-administration of excessive doses of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) disrupts reproductive function and may have critical repercussions for pubertal onset in adolescent users. Here, we demonstrate that ...

It has been demonstrated in different vertebrate species that the GABAA receptor complex is modulated by certain steroids. Theses results prompted work on the synthesis of these neurosteroids in the Central Nervous System. However, there are scarcely any studies analyzing their production or their modulatory effects on this receptor during development. In this work, the biosynthesis of [14C]pro...

BACKGROUND Volatile anesthetics act primarily through upregulating the activity of γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors. They also exhibit antiinflammatory actions in the lung. Rodent alveolar type II (ATII) epithelial cells express GABAA receptors and the inflammatory factor cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). The goal of this study was to determine whether human ATII cells also express GABAA re...

Classical benzodiazepine drugs are in wide clinical use as anxiolytics, hypnotics, anticonvulsants, and muscle relaxants. They act by enhancing the -aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptor function in the central nervous system. The pharmacological relevance of the multitude of structurally diverse GABAA receptor subtypes has only recently been identified. Based on an in vivo point mutation strateg...

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a process that certain types of synaptic stimulation lead to a long-lasting enhancement in the strength of synaptic transmission. Studies in recent years indicate the importance of molecular pathways in the development of memory and learning. Tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) is a member of the neurotrophin receptor tyrosine kinase family, that its ligand is b...