Neurosteroid modulation of GABAergic neurotransmission in the central amygdala: A role for NMDA receptors

• Published in: Neuroscience letters Vol. 415; no. 2; pp. 118 - 123
• Main Authors: Wang, Chunsheng, Marx, Christine E., Morrow, A. Leslie, Wilson, Wilkie A., Moore, Scott D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 26.03.2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Allopregnanolone; Amygdala; Amygdala - cytology; Amygdala - physiology; Analysis of Variance; Anesthetics - pharmacology; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Biological and medical sciences; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Interactions; Electric Stimulation; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists - pharmacology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; GABA A; GABA Antagonists - pharmacology; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - metabolism; In Vitro Techniques; Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials - drug effects; Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials - physiology; Male; Membrane Potentials - drug effects; Membrane Potentials - radiation effects; Neurons - drug effects; Neurons - physiology; Neurosteroid; NMDA; Patch clamp; Patch-Clamp Techniques; Picrotoxin - pharmacology; Pregnanolone - pharmacology; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - physiology; Synaptic Transmission - drug effects; Synaptic Transmission - radiation effects; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; NMDA; Patch clamp; GABA A; Neurosteroid; Amygdala; Allopregnanolone; Metabolite; Central nervous system; Electrophysiology; Patch clamp method; Basal ganglion; Glutamate receptor; Ovarian hormone; Encephalon; GABAA; Progesterone; Sex steroid hormone; NMDA receptor; Neurotransmission

The neurosteroid 3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one (allopregnanolone or ALLO) positively modulates GABA A receptors, an action that may contribute to the anxiolytic effects of ALLO. Recent evidence suggests that ALLO's anxiolytic effects appear to be mediated by the amygdala, a key neural structure...