background and objective: amygdala contains central nucleus which is the region rich of γ-aminobutyric acid (gaba-a) receptors and plays a key role in modulating behavior and sleep homeostasis. furthermore, dysfunction of amygdala probably contributes to anxiety and mood disorders. in this study, we evaluated the association between acute sleep deprivation (asd) and anxiety through gaba-a recep...

GABA(B) receptors are unique among G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in their requirement for heterodimerization between two homologous subunits, GABA(B1) and GABA(B2), for functional expression. Whereas GABA(B1) is capable of binding receptor agonists and antagonists, the role of each GABA(B) subunit in receptor signaling is unknown. Here we identified amino acid residues within the second i...

GABAergic IPSCs have a relatively slow decay (deactivation) that appears to result from GABA(A) receptor channel openings that occur well beyond the predicted duration of free GABA at central synapses. Open and desensitized states have been suggested to prevent dissociation of agonist from the receptor, thus prolonging deactivation. However, simultaneous assessment of GABA binding and channel g...

The GABA(B) (gamma-aminobutyric acid-B) receptor is composed of two subunits, GABA(B1) and GABA(B2). Both subunits share structural homology with other class-III G-protein-coupled receptors. They contain two main domains, a heptahelical domain typical of all G-protein-coupled receptors and a large ECD (extracellular domain). It has not been demonstrated whether the association of these two subu...

Changes in intracellular chloride concentration, mediated by chloride influx through GABA(A) receptor-gated channels, may modulate GABA(B) receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (GABA(B) IPSPs) via unknown mechanisms. Recording from CA3 pyramidal cells in hippocampal slices, we investigated the impact of chloride influx during GABA(A) receptor-mediated IPSPs (GABA(A) IPSPs) on the...

GABA(B) receptor agonists produce hypothermia and motor incoordination. Two GABA(B(1)) receptor subunit isoforms exist, but because of lack of specific molecular or pharmacological tools, the relevance of these isoforms in controlling basal body temperature, locomotor activity, or in vivo responses to GABA(B) receptor agonists has been unknown. Here, we used mice deficient in the GABA(B(1a)) an...

GABA(B) receptors are G-protein-coupled receptors mediating the slow onset and prolonged synaptic actions of GABA in the CNS. The recent cloning of two genes, GABA(B1) and GABA(B2), has revealed a novel requirement for GABA(B) receptor signalling. Studies have demonstrated that the two receptor subunits associate as a GABA(B1)/GABA(B2) heterodimer to form a functional GABA(B) receptor. In this ...

GABA(B) receptor-positive modulators are thought to have advantages as potential medications for anxiety, depression, and drug addiction. They may have fewer side effects than GABA(B) receptor agonists, because selective enhancement of activated receptors could have effects different from nonselective activation of all receptors. To examine this, pigeons were trained to discriminate the GABA(B)...

Ambient GABA modulates firing patterns in adult neural circuits by tonically activating extrasynaptic GABA(A) receptors. Here, we demonstrate that during a developmental period when activation of GABA(A) receptors causes membrane depolarization, tonic activation of GABA(A) receptors blocks all spontaneous activity recorded in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and starburst amacrine cells (SACs). Ba...

The role of gamma-aminobutyric acid B (GABA(B)) receptors in the generation and maintenance of bicuculline-induced epileptiform activity in rat neocortical slices was studied using electrophysiological methods. A block of GABA(B) receptors in the presence of functional GABA(A) receptor-mediated inhibition was not sufficient to induce epileptiform activity. In the presence of the GABA(A) recepto...