Apply the brakes

摘要

Inhibitory transmission shows plasticity, and this plasticity can affect activity-dependent excitatory plasticity via so-called metaplastic mechanisms. However, the roles of different subtypes of GABAA receptor (GABAAR) in inhibitory plasticity are not clear. Now, Davenport, Rajappa et al. use an optogenetic pharmacology approach to investigate the role of α5-subunit-containing GABAARs (α5-GABAARs) in hippocampal plasticity.