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Review
. 2008 Jul;90(1):90-4.
doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2008.03.006. Epub 2008 Mar 14.

GABA(A) receptors and alcohol

Ingrid A Lobo  1 , R Adron Harris
Affiliations
Review

GABA(A) receptors and alcohol

Ingrid A Lobo et al. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

There is substantial evidence that GABAergic neurotransmission is important for many behavioral actions of ethanol and there are reports spanning more than 30 years of literature showing that low to moderate (3-30 mM) concentrations of ethanol enhance GABAergic neurotransmission. A key question is which GABA receptor subunits are sensitive to low concentrations of ethanol in vivo and in vitro. Recent evidence points to a role for extrasynaptic receptors. Another question is which behavioral actions of alcohol result from enhancement of GABAergic neurotransmission. Some clues are beginning to emerge from studies of knock-out and knock-in mice and from genetic analysis of human alcoholics. These approaches are converging on a role for GABAergic actions in regulating alcohol consumption and, perhaps, the development of alcoholism.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A helical net representation illustrating the change in GABA-induced currents before and after treatment of MTS reagents on TM3 single Cys substitution mutants in the absence and presence of GABA or alcohols. I290 is positioned at the extracellular end, and T306 is the most intracellular cysteine mutant that was tested in TM3. Each symbol indicates MTS reactivity for the different functional states. The arrows illustrate the expansion of the water-filled cavity. This figure was previously published (Jung, 2005).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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