Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

carrot_bunny_dildo t1_jegf6eu wrote

Reply to comment by shakn1212 in ELI5: If benzodiazepines are CNS depressants, why is it so hard to die from a overdose of them alone? by psychrolute

So yeah that’s right. Benzodiazepines (BZD) are ‘allosteric modulators’ they don’t actually bind the GABA receptor site on the BZD receptor. Instead, BZD’s increase the affinity of the neurotransmitter GABA to bind at the BZD receptor. In other words, if there was no GABA neurotransmitters BZD’s would have no effect.
Additionally, administration on BZD causes rapid withdrawal of BZD receptors from the cell surface, which is another reason that likely increases their safety.

5