GHB receptor [SEP] found in taxon
effects which were found not to be produced by GABA activity, and so were suspected of being produced by a novel and at the time unidentified receptor target. Following the discovery of the "orphan" G-protein coupled receptor GPR172A, it was subsequently found to be the GHB receptor whose existence had been previously predicted. The rat GHB receptor was first cloned and characterised in 2003 followed by the human receptor in 2007.
Due to its many functions, this gene has a history of multiple discovery. In 2002, data
sufficient to produce psychoactive effects.
Pharmacology.
GHB has at least two distinct binding sites in the central nervous system. GHB is an agonist at the newly characterized GHB receptor, which is excitatory, and it is a weak agonist at the GABA receptor, which is inhibitory. GHB is a naturally occurring substance that acts in a similar fashion to some neurotransmitters in the mammalian brain. GHB is probably synthesized from GABA in GABAergic neurons, and released when the neurons fire.
GHB has been found to activate oxytocinergic neurons