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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Dec 9.
Published in final edited form as: Pharmacol Ther. 2007 May 8;116(1):140–171. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2007.04.005

Table 2.

Effects of ethanol withdrawal on GABAA receptors: correlation between changes in gene expression and modulation of receptor function with selective ligands and differences between neuronal cell types.

GABAA receptor subunit Gene Expression Modulation of receptor function by:
α1 Zaleplon (α1 selective)
↓Cerebellar granule cells ↓Cerebellar granule cells
↓Hippocampal neurons ↓Hippocampal neurons
α4 Flumazenil (agonist at α4)
↑Cerebellar granule cells ↑Cerebellar granule cells
↑Hippocampal neurons ↑Hippocampal neurons
δ 3α,5α-THP (δ-preferentially acting steroid)
↓Cerebellar granule cells ↓Cerebellar granule cells
↑Hippocampal neurons ↑Hippocampal neurons

Direction of arrows indicates increases or decreases in subunit gene expression (of both mRNA and corresponding peptide) and receptor function measured with the subunit specific receptor modulator as indicated. Data are derived with permission from previous studies (Follesa et al., 2003; Sanna et al., 2003; Follesa et al., 2004; Follesa et al., 2005; Follesa et al., 2006).