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Science 19 May 1978:
Vol. 200. no. 4343, pp. 775 - 777
DOI: 10.1126/science.205953
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Articles

Science, Vol 200, Issue 4343, 775-777
Copyright © 1978 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Different actions of anticonvulsant and anesthetic barbiturates revealed by use of cultured mammalian neurons

RL Macdonald and JL Barker

Barbiturate anesthetics, but not anticonvulsants, abolish the spontaneous activity of cultured spinal cord neurons; directly increase membrane conductance, an effect which is suppressed by the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) antagonists picrotoxin and penicillin; and are more potent than anticonvulsants in augmenting GABA and depressing glutamate responses. Barbiturate anticonvulsants abolish picrotoxin-induced convulsive activity. These results indicate qualitative and quantitative differences between anesthetic and anticonvulsant barbiturates, which may explain their different clinical effects.


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The Role of alpha 1 and alpha 6 Subtype Amino-Terminal Domains in Allosteric Regulation of gamma -Aminobutyric Acida Receptors.
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NMDA antagonist neurotoxicity: mechanism and prevention.
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