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pubmed:abstractText |
Gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAA-Rs) are the major inhibitory receptors in the mammalian brain and are modulated by a number of sedative/hypnotic drugs including benzodiazepines and anesthetics. The significance of specific GABAA-Rs subunits with respect to behavior and in vivo drug responses is incompletely understood. The gamma2 subunit is highly expressed throughout the brain. Global gamma2 knockout mice are insensitive to the hypnotic effects of diazepam and die perinatally. Heterozygous gamma2 global knockout mice are viable and have increased anxiety-like behaviors. To further investigate the role of the gamma2 subunit in behavior and whole animal drug action, we used gene targeting to create a novel mouse line with attenuated gamma2 expression, i.e., gamma2 knockdown mice.
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