2-Minute Neuroscience: Benzodiazepines

Summary

Benzodiazepines are commonly used to treat anxiety and sleep-related disorders. Examples include Valium, Xanax, and Klonopin.

Their calming and sedating effects are thought to result from their interaction with GABA-A receptors, which respond to the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. Benzodiazepines bind to a site on the receptor separate from GABA’s binding site. This is called an allosteric effect: the drug changes how the receptor responds to GABA.

Exactly how this interaction works is not fully settled. Evidence suggests benzodiazepines may make GABA more likely to activate the receptor, increase GABA’s effect after it binds, or do both.

When activated, the receptor opens an ion channel that allows negatively charged chloride ions to enter the neuron. This makes the neuron’s membrane potential more negative, or hyperpolarizes it, making the neuron less likely to fire an action potential.

By reducing activity in neural networks involved in anxiety and arousal, benzodiazepines can produce calming and sedating effects.

Speaker or source featured

The narrator is the host of 2 Minute Neuroscience. No personal name is given in the subtitles.