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Updated: Jul 29, 2026
09:59
GABA-activated Single-channel and Tonic Currents in Rat Brain Slices
Published on: July 17, 2011
GABA: history and perspectives
1Fakultät für Biologie, Universität Konstanz, Germany.
Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
|July 1, 1991
Summary
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was identified as factor I, a brain agent. This discovery revolutionized understanding of neurotransmission, though GABA
Area of Science:
- Neurobiology
- Neurochemistry
Background:
- Recounts the early days at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI).
- Details the development of methods and concepts leading to GABA's identification.
Observation:
- Factor I, a brain agent, was applied to the spinal cord and sympathetic ganglia.
- Factor I was discovered as an inhibitory agent in nerve extracts.
- Picrotoxin was found to prevent the inhibitory effects of factor I.
Findings:
- Factor I was chemically identified as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in 1957.
- Initial doubts about GABA as an inhibitory neurotransmitter were later resolved.
Implications:
- The functional role and mechanism of GABA in the brain and spinal cord remain incompletely understood.
- Ongoing research explores GABA's spontaneous release, excitatory actions, glial release, and metabolic turnover.
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