The notion that drug treatments can improve memory performance has moved from the realm of science fiction to that of serious investigation. A popular working hypothesis is that cognition can be improved by altering the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. This review focuses on the unique physiological and pharmacological properties of GABAARs [GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) subtype A receptors] that contain the α5 subunit (α5-GABAAR), as these receptors serve as candidate targets for memory-enhancing drugs.

Keywords:
benzodiazepine, brain, conductance, γ-aminobutyric acid subtype A receptor (GABAAR), hippocampal pyramidal neuron, long-term potentiation (LTP)
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Biochemical Society
2009
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