Diversity and Functions of GABA Receptors: A Tribute to Hanns Möhler, Part A (Volume 72) (Advances in Pharmacology, Volume 72)

The study of the psychopharmacology of benzodiazepines continues to provide new insights into diverse brain functions related to vigilance, anxiety, mood, epileptiform activity, schizophrenia, cognitive performance, and autism-related social behavior. In this endeavor, the discovery of the benzodiazepine receptor was a key event, as it supplied the primary benzodiazepine drug-target site, provided the molecular link to the allosteric modulation of GABAA receptors and, following the recognition of GABAA receptor subtypes, furnished the platform for future, more selective drug actions. This review has two parts. In a retrospective first part, it acknowledges the contributions to the field made by my collaborators over the years, initially at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basle and later, in academia, at the University and the ETH of Zurich. In the second part, the new frontier of GABA pharmacology, targeting GABAA receptor subtypes, is reviewed with special focus on nonsedative anxiolytics, antidepressants, analgesics, as well as enhancers of cognition in Down syndrome and attenuators of symptoms of autism spectrum disorders. It is encouraging that a clinical trial has been initiated with a partial inverse agonist acting on α5 GABAA receptors in an attempt to alleviate the cognitive deficits in Down syndrome.

This new volume of Advances in Pharmacology presents the diversity and functions of GABA Receptors. The volume looks at research performed in the past 20 years which has revealed specific physiological and pharmacological functions of individual GABAA receptor subtypes, providing novel opportunities for drug development.

• Contributions from the best authors in the field
• An essential resource for pharmacologists, immunologists, and biochemists

This new volume of Advances in Pharmacology presents the diversity and functions of GABA Receptors. The volume looks at research performed in the past 20 years which has revealed specific physiological and pharmacological functions of individual GABA A receptor subtypes, providing novel opportunities for drug development. Contributions from the best authors in the field An essential resource for pharmacologists, immunologists, and biochemists