Abstract
γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays many of its key roles in embryonic development and functioning of the central nervous system (CNS) by acting on ligand gated chloride-permeable channels known as GABAA receptors (GABAAR). Classically, GABAARmediated synaptic communication is tailored to allow rapid and precise transmission of information to synchronize the activity of large populations of cells to generate and maintain neuronal networks oscillations. An alternative type of inhibition mediated by GABAA receptors, initially described about 25 years ago, is characterized by a tonic activation of receptors that react to ambient extracellular GABA. The receptors that mediate this action are wide-spread throughout the nerve cells but are located distant from the sites of GABA release, and therefore they have been called extrasynaptic GABAA receptors. The molecular nature of the extrasynaptic GABAA receptors and the tonic inhibitory current they generate have been characterized in many brain structures, and due to its relevance in controlling neuron excitability they have become attractive pharmacological targets for a variety of neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, epilepsy and Parkinson disease. In the spinal cord, early studies have implicated these receptors in anesthesia, chronic pain, motor control, and locomotion. This review highlights past and present developments in the field of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors and emphasizes their subunit containing distribution and physiological role in the spinal cord.
Keywords: Spinal cord, GABA, extrasynaptic GABAA receptors, motoneurons, primary afferent fibers.
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title:Extrasynaptic GABAA Receptors in the Brainstem and Spinal Cord: Structure and Function
Volume: 19 Issue: 24
Author(s): Rodolfo Delgado-Lezama, Emanuel Loeza-Alcocer, Carmen Andres, Justo Aguilar, Pierre A. Guertin and Ricardo Felix
Affiliation:
Keywords: Spinal cord, GABA, extrasynaptic GABAA receptors, motoneurons, primary afferent fibers.
Abstract: γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays many of its key roles in embryonic development and functioning of the central nervous system (CNS) by acting on ligand gated chloride-permeable channels known as GABAA receptors (GABAAR). Classically, GABAARmediated synaptic communication is tailored to allow rapid and precise transmission of information to synchronize the activity of large populations of cells to generate and maintain neuronal networks oscillations. An alternative type of inhibition mediated by GABAA receptors, initially described about 25 years ago, is characterized by a tonic activation of receptors that react to ambient extracellular GABA. The receptors that mediate this action are wide-spread throughout the nerve cells but are located distant from the sites of GABA release, and therefore they have been called extrasynaptic GABAA receptors. The molecular nature of the extrasynaptic GABAA receptors and the tonic inhibitory current they generate have been characterized in many brain structures, and due to its relevance in controlling neuron excitability they have become attractive pharmacological targets for a variety of neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, epilepsy and Parkinson disease. In the spinal cord, early studies have implicated these receptors in anesthesia, chronic pain, motor control, and locomotion. This review highlights past and present developments in the field of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors and emphasizes their subunit containing distribution and physiological role in the spinal cord.
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Cite this article as:
Delgado-Lezama Rodolfo, Loeza-Alcocer Emanuel, Andres Carmen, Aguilar Justo, Guertin A. Pierre and Felix Ricardo, Extrasynaptic GABAA Receptors in the Brainstem and Spinal Cord: Structure and Function, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2013; 19 (24) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612811319240013
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612811319240013 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
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