Different actions of anticonvulsant and anesthetic barbiturates revealed by use of cultured mammalian neurons.
Barbiturate anesthetics, but not anticonvulsants, abolish the spontaneous activity of cultured spinal cord neurons; directly increase membrane conductance, an effect which is suppressed by the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) antagonists picrotoxin and penicillin; and are more potent than anticonvulsants in augmenting GABA and depressing glutamate responses. Barbiturate anticonvulsants abolish picrotoxin-induced convulsive activity. These results indicate qualitative and quantitative differences between anesthetic and anticonvulsant barbiturates, which may explain their different clinical effects.
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D005971:Glutamates / Q000494:pharmacology; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D010424:Pentobarbital / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010852:Picrotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000187:drug effects; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000494:pharmacology
D005971:Glutamates; D010424:Pentobarbital; D010634:Phenobarbital; D010852:Picrotoxin; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid