GABAB receptor plasticity
GABA is a key inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, regulating neuronal excitability and flow of information.
GABA binds either ligand-gated ion channels or metabotropic receptors, the latter known as GABAB receptors which produce potent inhibition.
GABAB receptors heterogeneously inhibit neuron types, with differences in function existing between age and species.
GABAB receptors also regulate their own signalling and that of other transmembrane proteins, leading to long-term loss of inhibition and, paradoxically, excitation in some neurons.
Plasticity of GABAB receptor signalling may be strongest in GABAergic cells that target the dendrites of other neurons, differentially regulating circuit level information flow.
GABAB receptor function and plasticity directly contribute to neuropathological conditions with elevated circuit activity, such as seizure disorders and dementia.
https://www.cell.com/trends/neurosciences/fulltext/S0166-2236(26)00186-4
