Effects of acute barbiturate administration, tolerance and dependence on brain GABA system: comparison to alcohol and benzodiazepines

Central nervous system depressants, e.g., barbiturates, alcohol and benzodiazepines, have a wide spectrum of activity in humans and animals. Evidence accumulated suggests that some of the pharmacological actions exerted by these agents may be mediated through GABA system by mimicking GABAergic transmission. This review attempts to summarize the evidence available as to how the GABA system plays a part in the barbiturate actions and the development of tolerance to and physical dependence on barbiturates. The comparisons of the effects of alcohol, barbiturates and benzodiazepines at different steps of GABA synapse are also presented. Furthermore, the results which have been reported in the literature are inconsistent. This may be due to differences in: (a) animal models used; (b) brain regions used; (c) protocols (dose, duration, form and route of administration, etc.) used in treating animals and/or (d) techniques (pharmacological, biochemical, physiological, etc.) used.