GABA_B receptor

GABA_B receptors (GABA_BR) are G-protein coupled receptors for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), therefore making them metabotropic receptors, that are linked via G-proteins to potassium channels. The changing potassium concentrations hyperpolarize the cell at the end of an action potential. The reversal potential of the GABA_B-mediated IPSP (inhibitory postsynaptic potential) is –100 mV, which is much more hyperpolarized than the GABA_A IPSP. GABA_B receptors are found in the central nervous system and the autonomic division of the peripheral nervous system.

The receptors were first named in 1981 when their distribution in the CNS was determined, which was determined by Norman Bowery and his team using radioactively labelled baclofen.