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PMID: 11699942 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

Distinguishing between GABA(A) receptors responsible for tonic and phasic conductances.

Neurochemical research ·Vol. 26 ·No. 8-9 ·2001-09-00 ·Pages 907-13

Mody I

Abstract

Cell-to-cell communication in the mammalian nervous system does not solely involve direct synaptic transmission. There is considerable evidence for a type of communication between neurons through chemical means that lies somewhere between the rapid synaptic information transfer and the relatively non-specific neuroendocrine secretion. Here I review some of the experimental evidence accumulated for the GABA system indicating that GABA(A) receptor-gated Cl-channels localized at synapses differ significantly from those found extrasynaptically. These two types of GABA(A) receptor are involved in generating distinctly different conductances. Thus, the development and search for pharmacological agents specifically aimed at selectively altering synaptic and extrasynaptic GABA(A) conductances is within reach, and is expected to provide novel insights into the regulation of neuronal excitability.

MeSH Terms
Animals Ion Channel Gating Receptors, GABA-A/physiology
Chemicals
Receptors, GABA-A
Authors & Affiliations
1 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Mody I
Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769, USA. mody@ucla.edu
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Article Info
Journal
Neurochemical research
Abbr.
Neurochem Res
ISSN
0364-3190
DOI
10.1023/a:1012376215967
Email
mody@ucla.edu
Published
2001-09-00
Pages
907-13
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7613461
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1023/a:1012376215967 View journal details
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