Enhancement of GABA-related signalling is associated with increase of functional connectivity in human cortex

Abstract: Structural or operational synchrony analysis with EEG was conducted in order to detect functional interaction between cortical areas during an enhanced inhibition induced by the GABAergic agonist lorazepam in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study in eight healthy human subjects. Specifically, we investigated whether a neuronal inhibitory system in the brain mediates functional decoupling of cortical areas. Single-dose lorazepam administration resulted in a widespread increase in the inter-area functional connectivity and in an increase in the strength of functional long-range and interhemispheric connections. These results suggest that inhibition can be an efficient mechanism for synchronization of large neuronal populations. Key words: GABA-inhibition, neuronal populations, structural synchrony, brain operations, temporal binding, EEG segments, lorazepam, integration, epilepsy.

Human Brain Mapping. 2004, V. 22. No 1. P. 27-39.

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