Figure 2.

Actions of thymol at an insect GABA receptor. Xenopus oocytes expressing the Drosophila GABA receptor subunit RDL_ac were voltage-clamped at −60 mV. The upper inset trace shows successive recordings from a single RDL_ac-expressing oocyte and demonstrates thymol-induced potentiation of the GABA-induced current through this receptor. The trace also shows that, after washout, the control GABA response is restored. The lower inset trace shows the current elicited by high concentrations of thymol, in this case 100 μM; this response was recorded during a preapplication period, where thymol was applied alone before being applied together with EC₂₀ GABA, and is shown here at high amplification. The graph shows thymol-induced dose-dependent potentiation of the GABA response mediated by RDL_ac homomers. Currents are expressed as a percentage of the control response to GABA, shown here as 100%. Data points displayed are the mean±one s.e.m. (n=6–7).