Extrasynaptic GABAA Receptors of Thalamocortical Neurons: A Molecular Target for Hypnotics

• Published in: The Journal of neuroscience Vol. 25; no. 50; pp. 11513 - 11520
• Main Authors: Belelli, Delia, Peden, Dianne R, Rosahl, Thomas W, Wafford, Keith A, Lambert, Jeremy J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Soc Neuroscience 14.12.2005; Society for Neuroscience
• Subjects: Animals; Cellular/Molecular; Cerebral Cortex - drug effects; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Drug Delivery Systems - methods; Female; GABA-A Receptor Agonists; Hypnotics and Sedatives - administration & dosage; Male; Mice; Nerve Net - drug effects; Nerve Net - physiology; Neurons - drug effects; Neurons - physiology; Receptors, GABA-A - physiology; Synapses - drug effects; Synapses - physiology; Thalamus - drug effects; Thalamus - physiology

Among hypnotic agents that enhance GABAA receptor function, etomidate is unusual because it is selective for beta2/beta3 compared with beta1 subunit-containing GABAA receptors. Mice incorporating an etomidate-insensitive beta2 subunit (beta(2N265S)) revealed that beta2 subunit-containing receptors m...