Stress and GABA A receptors

J. Neurochem. (2010) 112 , 1115–1130. Abstract GABA A receptors are sensitive to subtle changes in the environment in both early‐life and adulthood. These neurochemical responses to stress in adulthood are sex‐dependent. Acute stress induces rapid changes in GABA A receptors in experimental animals, with the direction of the changes varying according to the sex of the animals and the stress‐paradigm studied. These rapid alterations are of particular interest as they provide an example of fast neurotransmitter system plasticity that may be mediated by stress‐induced increases in neurosteroids, perhaps via effects on phosphorylation and/or receptor trafficking. Interestingly, some studies have also provided evidence for long‐lasting changes in GABA A receptors as a result of exposure to stressors in early‐life. The short‐ and long‐term stress sensitivity of the GABAergic system implicates GABA A receptors in the non‐genetic etiology of psychiatric illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia in which stress may be an important factor.