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Updated: Dec 28, 2025

Methods for the Discovery of Novel Compounds Modulating a Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Receptor Type A Neurotransmission
Published on: August 16, 2018
Photosensitive inhibition of the GABA system in vitro
Lei Sun1, Xinying Liu2, Xue Li3
1PTN Graduate Program, School of life science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Abstract:
In the central nervous system (CNS), γ-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA) receptors mediate two types of inhibitory effects. Phasic inhibition involves the activation of synaptic GABAA receptors, and tonic inhibition is mediated by extrasynaptic GABAA receptors. GABAA receptors are important regulators of neuronal activity and are involved in a range of neurological disorders. In this study, we conducted sIPSCs recordings on hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons in WT SD rats and found that exposure to blue light could specifically block the tonic inhibition and sIPSCs, and regulate neuronal activity. These observations indicate the existence of a non-opsin photosensitive pathway that regulates the GABA inhibitory system in the CNS.
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