• Isabella Ferando and Istvan Mody.
• Department of Neurology, The David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Physiology, The David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
• Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 2014 Jun 1; 26: 57-63.

AbstractAbout 20% of the total number of neurons in the brain are interneurons (INs) that utilize GABA as their neurotransmitter. The receptors for GABA have been well studied in principal cells, but INs also express GABA receptors, in particular the GABAA type (GABAARs), which may also be activated in an autocrine manner by the transmitter released by the INs themselves. As more and more neurological and psychiatric disorders are being discovered to be linked to malfunction or deficits of INs, this review will cover how INs communicate with each other through the activation of synaptic and extrasynaptic GABAARs. The properties of GABAARs specific to INs may differ significantly from those found on principal cells to open the prospect of developing IN-specific drugs.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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