§16§Since the discovery some 15 years ago of benzodiazepine§modulatory sites associated with GABA A receptors, great§effort has gone into understanding their molecular§pharmacology and into developing new anxiolytic drugs that§interact selectively with them. Prominent in this research§has beenthe discovery that ~-carbolines, a different§chemical class from benzodiazepines, also act at these§receptors but that their effects are sometimes quite§different from those of the benzodiazepines.This book§documents the latest discoveries in the molecular§biology of the GABA A receptor and reveals how§an integration of the results of research inmolecular§biology, synthetic chemistry, biochemical and behavioral§pharmacology, and clinical pharmacology has paved the way§forthe development of ~-carbolines from substances inducing§anxiety and convulsions to a novel therapy for anxiety§states, achieving a behavioral selectivity through selective§actions at subtypes of receptors. §04§Discovery of ?-Carboline Ligands for Benzodiazepine Receptors.- ?-Carboline-3-Carboxylic Acid Ethyl Ester: A Lead for New Psychotropic Drugs.- Molecular Biology of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Type A/Benzodiazepine Receptors.- Immunohistochemical Mapping of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Type A Receptor Alpha Subunits in Rat Central Nervous System.- Abecarnil is a Full Agonist at Some and a Partial Agonist at Other Recombinant Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Type A Receptor Subtypes.- Pharmacological Evidence for Full Agonist Activity of Abecarnil at Certain Receptors.- Abecarnil: A Novel Anxiolytic with Mixed Full Agonist/Partial Agonist Properties in Animal Models of Anxiety and Sedation.- Abecarnil Shows Reduced Tolerance Development and Dependence Potential in Comparison to Diazepam.- Behavioral Pharmacology of Abecarnil in Baboons: Reduced Dependence and Abuse Potential.- Abecarnil Used to Treat Benzodiazepine Withdrawal.- Abecarnil, A New ?-Carboline Anxiolytic: Preliminary Clinical Pharmacolog §04§y.
