GABA – Braking Your Brain

We often think of transmission in the brain, but we forget that the transmission has to stop. And that is the domain of GABA.

When we talk about neurotransmitters in the brain, those excitatory transmitters get all the attention, particularly dopamine, and also oxytocin that we covered in last issue. However, a key feature of any electrical system is how to stop transmission and inhibit transmission, and GABA is the brain’s main inhibitory transmitter making it an essential transmitter for brain functioning.

Gamma-Aminobutyric acid is a mouthful to say. That is why its abbreviation, GABA, rolls of the tongue easier. It is also produced by rancid butter but that is only a bit of trivia! As I mentioned in the introduction, GABA is the brain’s main inhibitory transmitter. It is quickly forgotten that the brain has excitatory transmitters and neurons, but also inhibitory transmitters and neurons. The brain has to switch off, or slow down transmission as much as it has to activate transmission - and the main chemical to do this is GABA.