GABAA receptor mRNAs are increased after electroconvulsive shock.

Electroconvulsive shock (ECS) has been reported to alter brain second-messengers and neurotransmitter systems, including the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) system, and to increase messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for the proto-oncogene c-fos. We evaluated mRNA for the most abundant GABAA receptor subunits, alpha 1 and gamma 2, in brain regions after a single ECS in mice. Alpha 1 and gamma 2 mRNAs were unchanged from controls at 2 hrs after ECS, but both were significantly elevated in cerebellum and hippocampus after 4 hrs. This alteration persisted in cerebellum for alpha 1 mRNA at 8 hrs, but resolved for gamma 2 mRNA in cerebellum and for both subunit mRNAs in hippocampus. No changes in mRNA were observed in cortex for either subunit and no changes in either mRNA were observed in brain regions of sham-treated mice. Thus, ECS appears to be associated with a rapid, reversible increase in GABAA receptor subunit mRNAs in several brain regions.