Gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptors (GABAAR) have been proposed to mediate a variety of behavioral effects of ethanol, including ethanol’s reinforcing and rewarding effects (Grobin et al. 1998; Chester & Cunningham 2002; Koob 2004). GABAARs are pentameric complexes that function as ligand-gated chloride channels and are composed from multiple distinct subunits (α 1-6, β 1-3, γ 1-3, δ, ε, θ, π and ρ 1-3). The consequence of this diversity in subunit composition is substantial functional and pharmacological heterogeneity (Macdonald & Olsen 1994; Mody & Pearce 2004).
