Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Identification and Classification of Position-specific GABAA Receptor Subunit Missense Variants for Their Role In Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons
Published on: June 6, 2025
A linkage study between the GABAA beta2 and GABAA gamma2 subunit genes and major psychoses
Alda M Ambrósio1, James L Kennedy, Fabio Macciardi
1Unit of Clinical and Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Legal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Largo da Se Nova, 3000-213 Coimbra, Portugal. aldachico@yahoo.com
Background:
Alterations of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system have been implicated in the pathophysiology of major psychoses.
Objective:
Restriction fragment length polymorphisms associated with the human gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) beta2 and GABAA gamma2 subunit genes on chromosome 5q32-q35 were tested to determine whether they confer susceptibility to major psychoses.
Methods:
Thirty-two schizophrenic families and 25 bipolar families were tested for linkage.
Results:
Nonparametric linkage (NPL) analysis performed by GENEHUNTER showed no significant NPL scores for both genes in schizophrenia (GABAA beta2: NPL narrow= -0.450; NPL broad= -0.808; GABAA gamma2: NPL narrow=0.177; NPL broad= -0.051) or bipolar disorder (GABAA beta2: NPL narrow=0.834; NPL broad=0.783; GABAA gamma2: NPL narrow= -0.159; NPL broad=0.070).
Conclusion:
Linkage analysis does not support the hypothesis that variants within the GABAA beta2 and GABAA gamma2 genes are significantly linked to major psychoses in a Portuguese population.
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