Main description:

GABA is the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS and acts via GABAA and GABAB receptors. Recently, a novel form of GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition, termed "tonic" inhibition, has been described. Whereas synaptic GABAA receptors underlie classical "phasic" GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition (inhibitory postsynaptic currents), tonic GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition results from the activation of extrasynaptic receptors by low concentrations of ambient GABA. Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors are composed of receptor subunits that convey biophysical properties ideally suited to the generation of persistent inhibition and are pharmacologically and functionally distinct from their synaptic counterparts. This book highlights ongoing work examining the properties of recombinant and native extrasynaptic GABAA receptors and their preferential targeting by endogenous and clinically relevant agents. In addition, it emphasizes the important role of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors in GABAergic inhibition throughout the CNS and identifies them as a major player in both physiological and pathophysiological processes.

Contents:

1) Chapter 1: A brief introduction to extrasynaptic GABAA receptors and 'tonic' GABAA receptor mediated inhibition in physiology and disease - Adam C Errington

2) Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors: subunit composition, distribution, and regulation - Jean-Marc Fritschy and Patrizia Panzanelli

3) Biophysical properties of recombinant y2 and d subunit containing GABAa receptors - Robert L MacDonald and Emmanueal J Botzolakis

4) The pharmacology of extrasynaptic GABAa receptors - Keith A Wafford

5) Neurosteroids and extrasynaptic GABAa receptors - William M Connelly

6) Sources of GABA that activate extrasynaptic GABAa receptors - Damian Bright, Catriona Houston and Stephen Brickley

7) Metabotropic receptor modulation of extrasynaptic GABAa receptors - Giuseppe Digiovanni

8) Extrasynaptic GABAa receptors and tonic inhibition in the spinal cord - Emanuel Loeza-Alcocer, Carmen Andres, Justo Aguilar, Ricardo Felix and Rodolfo Delgado-Lezama

9) The role of peri-synaptic GABAa receptors after stroke - Andrew N Clarkson and Mary Chebib

10) The role of extrasynaptic GABAa receptors in focal epilepsy - Matthew C Walker and Ivan Pavlov

11) Gain-of-function of extrasynaptic GABAa receptors in typical absence seizures - Vincenzo Crunelli, Giuseppe Digiovanni, H. Rheinallt Parri and Adam C Errington

12) GABAergic control of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis: role of extrasynaptic GABAa receptors - Jamie Maguire

13) Tonic GABAa receptor mediated inhbition in fragil X sindrome: A cause of dysfunction or a pathway for cure? - Brandon S Martin and Molly M Huntsman