Estradiol acts rapidly and directly to inhibit L-type Ca2+ current in medium spiny neurons from striatum. Since medium spiny neurons contain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), we hypothesized that estradiol inhibition of Ca2+ channel current in the cell body would result in decreased GABA release. In this study, we examined the effect of estradiol on the concentration of GABA, taurine, and glutama...

The localization of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-immunoreactive neurons that project to the main olfactory bulb in the frog was studied by combining GABA immunohistochemistry with retrograde axonal tracing. Double-labelled neurons were observed in the dorsal, medial and lateral pallial areas involved in reciprocal connections with the main olfactory bulb. GABA-immunoreactive cell bodies const...

Following peripheral nerve transection, reorganizational plasticity has been reported to occur in two phases, one immediate and one more protracted. GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) has been implicated in the immediate "unmasking" phase of reorganization. We have used quantitative autoradiography to assess potential changes in GABA(A) and GABA(B) receptor binding in primate somatosensory cortex f...

Background and purpose Executive function impairment, a slight but noticeable cognitive deficit in mild impairment (MCI) patients, is influenced by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels. Reduced accompanied thinning of the cerebral cortex, which has higher GABA levels than white matter. However, relationships among levels, cortical thickness, executive MCI patients have not yet been elucidated....

This Perspective by Tasker is one of two discussing the regulation of ion channels by neurosteroids. Neurosteroids are steroids synthesized in the brain that act as allosteric modulators of ion-channel activity. The dual regulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptors and voltage-gated calcium channels by phosphorylation and neurosteroids is the focus of this Perspective.

Treatment with pentobarbital of primary cultured cerebellar granule cells decreased the gamma-aminobutyric acid, (GABA)A receptor subunit gamma-2 long/short (gamma-2L/S) mRNA ratio. A high dose of pentobarbital (500 microM) decreased the gamma-2L/S ratio by 64%; the decrease was dose and time dependent and reversible. (-)-Hexobarbital (500 microM), the less potent stereoisomer for GABA(A) recep...

The effects of antiepileptic drugs, gabapentin, pregabalin and vigabatrin, on brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate and glutamine concentrations were studied in Long Evans rats using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of perchloric acid extracts. Cellular glutamate concentrations significantly decreased by 7% (P<0.05) 2 hours after intraperitoneal injection of 100mg/kg gabap...

Topiramate (TPM) is an antiepileptic drug able to play a role in both neurological and psychiatric disorders. TPM facilitates gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transmission and inhibits glutamatergic transmission (i.e. AMPA/kainate receptors). Several studies reported that the modulation of GABAergic and glutamatergic synaptic transmission may reduce cocaine reinforcement. Therefore, TPM could be ...

In the present study we report the presence of acetylcholinesterase activity and gamma-aminobutyric acid binding sites in crude extracts of Dicrocoelium dendriticum. This indirectly demonstrates the presence of acetylcholine and GABA. The presence of these neurotransmitters could indicate the existence of two systems implicated in the neurotransmission of the Digenea.