BACKGROUND Although the neurobiological basis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not fully understood, recent studies have indicated the potential role of GABAA receptors in the pathophysiology of ASD. GABAA receptors play a crucial role in various neurodevelopmental processes and adult neuroplasticity. However, the mechanism(s) of regulation of GABAA receptors in ASD remains poorly understoo...

Abuse of methamphetamine (METH), a powerful addictive amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), is becoming a global public health problem. The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic system plays a critical role in METH use disorders. By using rat METH conditioned place preference (CPP) model, we previously demonstrated that METH-associated rewarding memory formation was associated with the reduction of ...

PURPOSE Gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA) receptors (GABAARs), which are ionotropic receptors involving chloride channels, have been identified in various neural (e.g., mouse retinal ganglion cells) and nonneural cells (e.g., mouse lens epithelial cells) regulating the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)]i). GABAAR β-subunit protein has been isolated in the cultured human and rat RPE, ...

Fluoxetine has emerged as a novel treatment for persistent amblyopia because in adult animals it reinstates critical period-like ocular dominance plasticity and promotes recovery of visual acuity. Translation of these results from animal models to the clinic, however, has been challenging because of the lack of understanding of how this selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor affects glutamaterg...

Introduction: The interaction between steroid hormones and neurotransmitters such as GABA has been proved. The regulation of muscimol binding to high-affinity GABAA receptors by estradiol and progesterone has been studied within distinct brain regions using in vitro quantitative autoradiography. There are few studies about the mechanism of the effect of steroid hormones on behaviors such as ...

Oxysophocarpine (OSC) is an alkaloid extracted from Siphocampylus verticillatus. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-nociceptive effects of OSC through systemic and intracerebroventricular administration in mice. Moreover, to evaluate its effectiveness and mechanism of action, this study investigated whether OSC altered the expression of γ-aminobutyric acid type A α1 (GABAAα1) rec...