Plasticity of GABAA receptors relevant toneurosteroid actions

Abstract

It is now widely accepted that phasic (synaptic) and tonic (extrasynaptic) γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic influences on neuronal excitability are mediated by different receptors with different pharmacologic profiles. This article focuses on the plasticity of the neurosteroid-sensitive δ subunit containing GABAA receptors(δ-GABAARs) in animal models of temporal lobe epilepsies (TLEs) and its possible consequences for modulating the excitability of the dentate gyrus. For an expanded treatment of this topic see Jasper's Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies, Fourth Edition (Noebels JL, Avoli M, Rogawski MA, Olsen RW, Delgado-Escueta AV, eds) published by Oxford University Press (available on the National Library of Medicine Bookshelf [NCBI] at). © 2010 International League Against Epilepsy.