Definition
First synthesized in 1928, pentobarbital is a short-acting barbiturate used formerly in humans as a sedative/hypnotic and anxiolytic agent. Now it is used more commonly as an anesthetic in veterinary practice and as an anticonvulsant. Like other barbiturates, it acts at the GABAA receptor to enhance inhibitory neurotransmission but it also acts as an antagonist at glutamate receptors of the AMPA subtype, thereby reducing excitatory neurotransmission. It is now a regulated drug of abuse, partly because of its association with suicide and as an agent of euthanasia.
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© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Robbins, T. (2010). Pentobarbital. In: Stolerman, I.P. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_1870
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_1870
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-68698-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68706-1
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