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GABA-A and GABA-B

Treacle

Treacle

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Does either of these neurotransmitters have more of a control on the brain than the other? If you abuse and down-regulate receptors of either one, which is most detrimental? I am thinking GABA-A, because alcohol is the only drug that you have a real chance of dying from withdrawal. I know GABA-A agonists help with GABA-B withdrawals, and the reverse is true. Are they equal in the power they have over the brain?
 
You're confused. There's not a "gaba-a" and a "gaba-b" neurotransmitter. There's GABA, which is a neurotransmitter, and GABA-A and GABA-B receptors.

GABA-B agonists aren't abused a whole lot. GHB is a GABA-B agonist, but there's a lot more to it than that alone. Alcohol is also a GABA-B agonist.

This question seems kind of pointless though- there's obviously no clear answer. Give someone a proper dose of a selective antagonist. You get similar effects.

It's like asking what's more important: 5HT2a or D3 receptors.

Everything works together, it's a balance, that's all.
 
I sort of knew that about GABA. I just worded it wrong. I thought booze was a GABA-A agonist? If what you are saying is right, then saying that GABA-B agonists aren't really abused (booze and G) is sort of wrong. Booze is the most commonly abused drug.
 
Yeah, that's what I meant. Ethanol is a very sloppy drug, GHB not so much (but obviously it's not purely a GABA-B agonist).
 
This thread got me interested in GABA-B. I'm reading in places that baclofen is specific to GABA-B. Is it really specific or do you think it just hits B a little more than A? The literature I'm finding on Phenibut is a little more clear that Phenibut hits both but B more.
 
I'm pretty sure that baclofen is about as selective as you can get (though I've not seen ki or ic50 values). It is apparently recreational in doses 10-15x therapeutic doses. that's a massive increase, though.
 
I didn't find it very recreational even at high doses, this was a couple of years ago and I can't quite remember what doses, but I didn't see much in it, ok for sleeping though.
 
^ at what dose did you venture up to ...?

were you typically at this time responsive or likely responsive to benzos or the like in a rec manner?
 
Unsure of the dosages, but they came in blister packs, and a full one didn't have much effect, that was during my 'bad days' but before I fucked myself with barbs so some tolerance, not rediculously high.
 
Ham-milton said:
I'm pretty sure that baclofen is about as selective as you can get (though I've not seen ki or ic50 values). It is apparently recreational in doses 10-15x therapeutic doses. that's a massive increase, though.
Click to expand...


In a similar way to Sedating anti-histamines are "recreational" - I.e not really if you have any sense.

Yeah baclofen is fairly specific isn't it? They use it in pharmacology experiments that require a Gaba-b agonist. ?
 
In a similar way to Sedating anti-histamines are "recreational" - I.e not really if you have any sense.
Click to expand...

Except we know that the pathway it works through is recreational for GABA-B agonists, which isn't true for antihistamines.
 
It works great for restless legs, and its somewhat anxiolytic, but no, not very recreational in my personal experience with it, YYMV.

That said, if I had some, I'd munch it, it was better than being sober, but nothing special at all, just helped deal with the overstimulation I feel on a daily basis.
 
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