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Updated: Apr 19, 2026
Methods for the Discovery of Novel Compounds Modulating a Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Receptor Type A Neurotransmission
Published on: August 16, 2018
Focus on GABA(A) receptor function. A comparative analysis of in vivo imaging studies in neuropsychiatric disorders
S Nikolaus1, H Hautzel, H-W Müller
1Prof. Susanne Nikolaus, Clinic of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heinrich-Heine University, Moorenstr. 5 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, Tel. +49/(0)211/811 70 48, Fax +49/(0)211/811 70 41,
Unlabelled:
Impairment of GABA(A) receptor function is increasingly recognized to play a major role in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric diseases including anxiety disorder (AD), major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia (SZ).
Patients, Method:
We conducted a PUBMED search, which provided a total of 23 in vivo investigations with PET and SPECT, in which GABA(A) receptor binding in patients with the primary diagnosis of AD (n = 14, 160 patients, 172 controls), MDD (n = 2, 24 patients, 28 controls) or SZ (n = 6, 77 patients, 90 controls) was compared to healthy individuals.
Results:
A retrospective analysis revealed that AD, MDD and SZ differed as to both site(s) and extent(s) of GABAergic impairment. Additionally, it may be stated that, while the decline of GABA(A) receptor binding AD involved the whole mesolimbocortical system, in SZ it was confined to the frontal and temporal cortex.
Conclusion:
As GABA is known to inhibit dopamine and serotonin, GABAergic dysfunction may be associated with the disturbances of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission in neuropsychiatric disorders.
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