SMi Source Lesson Insomnia: GABA Mechanism of Action

  • SMi Source lesson Insomnia: GABA Mechanism of Action has the following microlearning topics

    • 1. Treatment of Insomnia

  • Lesson Insomnia: GABA Mechanism of Action teaches these concepts

    • GABA Mechanism of Action, Mechanism of Action: Introduction

    GABA Mechanism of Action, Mechanism of Action, Benzodiazepines

    GABA Mechanism of Action, Mechanism of Action, Non-Benzodiazepines

  • Lesson Insomnia: GABA Mechanism of Action addresses these key points

    • Many prescription sleep aids potentiate GABA

    • Inhibitory neurotransmitter
    • Binds to the GABA-A receptor, which is composed of several different subunits
    • GABA-A receptor opens an ion channel through which chloride ions enter the cell and inhibit neuronal activity

    Benzodiazepines

    • Believed to treat insomnia because of their ability to bind to an allosteric site on the GABA-A receptor
    • Site is a pocket-situated between two subunits: alpha and gamma
    • They do not discriminate which type of alpha-subunit they bind to
    • Results in indiscriminate GABA-A receptor activation

    Non-Benzodiazepines

    • Bind more selectively to GABA-A receptors containing the alpha-1 subunit
    • Lower selectivity for the subunits other than alpha-1
      • Anxiolytic muscle relaxant and amnestic effects