I am curious, I have been reading about the GABA inhibitory
neurotransmitter, and how the sedatives such as alcohol and barbiturates
are attributed to their actions on these receptors. The reasoning behind
it is that a barbiturate would attach to the receptor would would result
in the opening of a chloride channel, which in turn results in the
hyperpolarization of the neuro and thus sedation? Could someone explain
why this hyperpolarization of the neuro would result in sedation? From
what I understand, the average potential across a neuron is approx. 90mV,
so why would increasing this sedate a person?
Thanks
Mike
