Factors affecting the conductance of GABA(A) channels

GABA(A)受体提供了大脑中大部分的抑制作用。如果它们被堵塞，动物就会癫痫发作甚至死亡。它们是各种各样医学上有用的药物的目标，如麻醉剂、安定等镇静剂和抗癫痫药物。所有这些药物都提高了它们的有效性，增加了大脑的抑制作用。大多数都是偶然发现的。在这个项目中，我们将发现更多关于这些受体的信息。这将为我们提供更多关于大脑如何工作的信息，也有助于寻找更好、更有选择性的药物。

GABA(A) receptors provide most of the inhibition in the brain. If they are blocked, animals suffer from seizures and die. They are the target for a wide variety of medically useful drugs such as anaesthetics, tranquillisers such as valium and anti-epleptic drugs. All these drugs boost their effectiveness and increase inhibition in the brain. Most of them were discovered by chance. In this project, we will find out more about these receptors. This will give us more information about how the brain works and also help in the search for better, more selective drugs.