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Denervation supersensitivity in the striatonigral GABA pathway

Nature volume 276, pages 618–620 (1978)Cite this article

Abstract

POSTSYNAPTIC receptors deprived of their associated presynaptic terminals exhibit denervation supersensitivity by showing enhanced responses to agonist drugs and elevated binding of radiolabelled ligands1–4. To investigate whether this effect also occurs in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurones we have denervated the receptors for a well defined GABAergic projection in the rat brain, using the kainic acid lesion technique, and have found them to show enhanced responses to a GABA agonist drug and correlated elevations in radioligand binding. These results indicate that GABA receptors can show denervation supersensitivity and suggest that elevated GABA-receptor binding in Huntington's chorea may be of functional significance for the pharmacotherapy of this disorder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Psychiatry, MRC Clinical Research Centre, Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex, UK

    JOHN L. WADDINGTON & ALAN J. CROSS

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  1. JOHN L. WADDINGTON
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  2. ALAN J. CROSS
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WADDINGTON, J., CROSS, A. Denervation supersensitivity in the striatonigral GABA pathway. Nature 276, 618–620 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/276618a0

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