EtOH potentiation of GABAA receptor function has been extensively studied. There are 19 subunit proteins that contribute to the formation of GABAA receptors (International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, IUPHAR, database http://www.iuphar-db.org/index.jsp). Many of these subunit combinations have been examined for function and pharmacology in heterologous expression systems. To briefly summarize a large body of data, there is evidence that EtOH potentiates the function of α/β/γ-subunit-containing receptors, as well as those containing α4 or α6 along with β and δ subunits (Olsen et al. 2007; Lobo and Harris 2008; Mihic and Harris 1995; McCool et al. 2003). However, none of these findings has been uniformly replicated in all laboratories that have examined EtOH effects in heterologous systems (reviewed in Lovinger and Homanics 2007; Aguayo et al. 2002). Using cultured and isolated neurons, several investigators have observed potentiation of GABAAR function (Celentano et al. 1988; Reynolds and Prasad 1991; Aguayo 1990; Nishio and Narahashi 1990; Sapp and Yeh 1998), but this sort of effect has not been observed in every neuronal type examined (e.g. McCool et al. 2003; White et
