Trends in Neurosciences
Volume 14, Issue 12, December 1991, Pages 515-519
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GABA: an excitatory transmitter in early postnatal life

https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-2236(91)90003-DGet rights and content

Abstract

In the adult mammalian CNS, GABA is the main inhibitory transmitter. It inhibits neuronal firing by increasing a Cl conductance. Bicuculline blocks this effect and induces interictal discharges. A different picture is present in neonatal hippocampal neurones, where synaptically released or exogenously applied GABA depolarizes and excites neuronal membranes - an effect that is due to a different Cl gradient. In fact, during the early neonatal period, GABA acting on GABAA receptors provides most of the excitatory drive, whereas excitatory glutamatergic synapses are quiescent. It is suggested that during development GABA exerts mainly a trophic action through membrane depolarization and a rise in intracellular Ca2+.

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