Involvement of the GABAergic system in PTSD and its therapeutic significance

Junhui Huang; Fei Xu; Liping Yang; Lina Tuolihong; Xiaoyu Wang; Zibo Du; Yiqi Zhang; Xuanlin Yin; Yingjun Li; Kangrong Lu; Wanshan Wang

doi:10.3389/fnmol.2023.1052288

Involvement of the GABAergic system in PTSD and its therapeutic significance

Front Mol Neurosci. 2023 Feb 1:16:1052288. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1052288. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Junhui Huang¹, Fei Xu², Liping Yang³, Lina Tuolihong⁴, Xiaoyu Wang⁵, Zibo Du⁵, Yiqi Zhang⁵, Xuanlin Yin⁴, Yingjun Li⁶, Kangrong Lu⁷, Wanshan Wang⁸

Affiliations

¹ Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
² Department of Psychiatry of School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
³ Department of Applied Psychology of School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Basic Medical of Basic Medical College, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁵ Eight-Year Master's and Doctoral Program in Clinical Medicine of the First Clinical Medical College, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁶ Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁷ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Construction and Detection in Tissue Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁸ Department of Laboratory Animal Center, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

The neurobiological mechanism of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is poorly understood. The inhibition of GABA neurons, especially in the amygdala, is crucial for the precise regulation of the consolidation, expression, and extinction of fear conditioning. The GABAergic system is involved in the pathophysiological process of PTSD, with several studies demonstrating that the function of the GABAergic system decreases in PTSD patients. This paper reviews the preclinical and clinical studies, neuroimaging techniques, and pharmacological studies of the GABAergic system in PTSD and summarizes the role of the GABAergic system in PTSD. Understanding the role of the GABAergic system in PTSD and searching for new drug targets will be helpful in the treatment of PTSD.

Keywords: GABA; amygdala; fear memory; neurotransmitter; post-traumatic stress disorder.

Publication types

Review