Mechanisms of reversible GABAA receptor plasticity after ethanol intoxication.

The time-dependent effects of ethanol (EtOH) intoxication on GABA(A) receptor (GABA(A)R) composition and function were studied in rats. A cross-linking assay and Western blot analysis of microdissected CA1 area of hippocampal slices obtained 1 h after EtOH intoxication (5 g/kg, gavage), revealed decreases in the cell-surface fraction of alpha4 and delta, but not alpha1, alpha5, or gamma2 GABA(A)R subunits, without changes in their total content. This was accompanied (in CA1 neuron recordings) by decreased magnitude of the picrotoxin-sensitive tonic current (I(tonic)), but not miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs), and by reduced enhancement of I(tonic) by EtOH, but not by diazepam.