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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
GABA-activated Single-channel and Tonic Currents in Rat Brain Slices
Published on: July 17, 2011
A high-fat diet decreases GABA concentration in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of rats
Cuauhtemoc Sandoval-Salazar1, Joel Ramírez-Emiliano2, Aurora Trejo-Bahena3
1Departamento de Enfermería y Obstetricia, Universidad de Guanajuato, Celaya, GTO, Mexico. cuauhtemocss@gmail.com.
Background:
It has been proposed that the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays a key role in the regulation of food intake and body weight by controlling the excitability, plasticity and the synchronization of neuronal activity in the frontal cortex (FC). It has been also proposed that the high-fat diet (HFD) could disturb the metabolism of glutamate and consequently the GABA levels, but the mechanism is not yet clearly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a HFD on the GABA levels in the FC and hippocampus of rats.
Results:
The HFD significantly increased weight gain and blood glucose levels, whereas decreased the GABA levels in the FC and hippocampus compared with standard diet-fed rats.
Conclusions:
HFD decreases GABA levels in the FC and hippocampus of rat, which likely disrupts the GABAergic inhibitory processes, underlying feeding behavior.
