Numerous literature data indicates that benzodiazepines inHuence neuronal activity in various sections of centrai nervous system, from spinal cord to the brain stem up to neocortex. I t was shown t ha t benzodiazepines increase t be presynaptic inhihition in the spinal cord [1-3] and various types of postsynaptic inhibition in the cerebellum [4] and nigrostriatal system [5]. Since these types o...

All members of the receptor-operated ion channel family that includes gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glycine, nicotinic acetylcholine, and serotonin type 3 receptors have a conserved leucine near the center of the presumed second membrane-spanning domain. This leucine has been postulated to play a role in the gating of the pore. In this study, we examined the effects of mutating this leucine (...

Vigabatrin (gamma-vinyl-GABA or GVG) is an irreversible inhibitor of gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase (GABA-T), which is an enzyme responsible for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) catabolism. Inhibition of GABA catabolism increases brain concentration of GABA, a neural inhibitor. GVG has been found to be a potent new anti-epileptic drug, especially in the treatment of refractory epilepsy, in ...

muscle (Ash & Tucker, 1967) and stimulated a chloridedependent hyperpolarization of individual muscle cells (Del Castillo et al., 1964; Martin, 1980). The properties and reaction mechanism of GABA-T from a nematode parasite of rats (Nippostrongylus brasiliensis) have been described in detail (Watts & Atkins, 1984) and, by analogy with the findings in mammalian brain tissue, it was of interest t...

system (1). The studies of Killam (2) and Killam and Bain (3), whieh used convulsant hydrazides and demonstrated thatr GABA has an inhibitory function in the CNS, suggested a role for GABA in neurotoxicology. There are two types of GABA receptors, GABIVA and GABAB, The GABAA receptor is a membrane bound eomplex consisting of at least three binding sites for GABA, benzodiazepines, the barbiturat...

Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) possesses several physiological functions such as neurotransmission, induction of hypotension, diuretic and tranquilizer effects. Production of GABA-enriched products by lactic acid bacteria has been a focus of different researches in recent years because of their safety and health-promoting specifities. In this study, glutamate decarboxylase (gad) gene of a loca...

Hermissenda crassicornis exhibits Pavlovian conditioning in response to repeated presentations of paired light and turbulence stimuli. The behavioral changes are correlated with a change in electrical properties of the B photoreceptor cell. In response to turbulence, the hair cell releases GABA onto the terminal branches of the B cell. After repeated stimulation of the B cell using a light flas...

The largest component in the fully dark-adapted ERG is a corneal-positive response, known as the b-wave, and believed to originate from depolarizing (ON-type) bipolar cells. The two types of GABA receptors, GABA(A) and GABA(C) have been reported to exist on bipolar cells in rat retina. The goal of these experiments was to find whether these GABA receptors participate in the generation of the b-...

NATURE REVIEWS | NEUROSCIENCE VOLUME 4 | DECEMBER2003 | 937 GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) is a classical inhibitory neurotransmitter, although it has been suggested that it might mediate excitation in some adult neurons. Beg and Jorgensen, writing in Nature Neuroscience, have characterized an unusual GABA receptor that is selective for cations rather than anions, giving it an excitatory effect. Th...

gamma-amino butyric acid (gaba) possesses several physiological functions such as neurotransmission, induction of hypotension, diuretic and tranquilizer effects. production of gaba-enriched products by lactic acid bacteria has been a focus of different researches in recent years because of their safety and health-promoting specifities. in this study, glutamate decarboxylase (gad) gene of a loca...