Certain proteins found in the human brain have long been known to be critical to controlling how brain cells communicate with each other. So-called GABAA receptors are proteins that control the flow of ions into and out of cells. As they play such a vital role in how neurons slow down or stop firing, they have become the targets of many drugs for conditions such as epilepsy, anxiety, depression and insomnia.
Yet due to technical limitations and the delicate nature of studying human brain tissue, scientists have lacked a complete picture of how GABAA receptors, and their 19 subunits, come together to carry out their functions.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have for the first time constructed a detailed structural map of GABAA…