inhibitory transmission Flashcards
what is GABAaR
a transmitter gated anion channel which consists of 5 transmembrane subunits
what is GABAbR
a G-protein coupled receptor consisting of 2 subunits
what is the major inhibitory receptor in the mamallian brain
GABAaR
what is fast inhibition in the spinal cord mediated by
GABAaRs and glycine receptors
what are GABAaR inhibitors
proconvulsant and anxiogenic
what are drugs that enhance GABAaR function called
positive allosteric modulators (PAMs)
what is an example of a PAM
diazepam
what is the function of PAMs
anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, sedative and analgesic
do PAMs work in the absence of GABAaR
no
how do PAMs work
they enhance the effects of GABA whilst binding to a different part of the pentamer
describe the GABAbR
a heterodimer with GABAb1 providing the GABA binding domain and GABAb2 the G-protein coupling to Gai and Gao
what is baclofen
a slective GABAbR agonist used clinically to treat certain types of spacifity (muscle stiffness) reesultant from multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries
it is a skeletal muscle relaxant which acts on the spinal cord
how does GABA transmission work
a-ketoglutarate is made into glutamate by GATA-T
glutamate is made into GABA via GAD
GABA is backagaed by VGAT and then released into the synapse via exocytosis
the GABA attaches to GABAaR to cause hyperpolarisation
what is the affinity of extra-synaptic receptors for GABA
very high affinity - constantly opening and closing i response to very small concs of GABA
GABARs that are directly on the post-synaptic membrane have…
low affinity for GABA
what is phasic inhibition
fast
what is tonic injibition
slow
what is feed-forward inhibition
Involves a bi-synaptic inhibitory response. (GABA) arrives only 1-5 msec after the monosynaptic excitatory (glutamate) input, thereby limiting the time window for the summation of excitatory inputs to generate an action potential
what does activation of glutamate-gated cation conducting channels produce
EPSP
what does activation of a GABA-gated anion conducting channel produce
IPSP (inhibitory postsynaptic potential)