A Moderator for an Over-Excited Brain
• Promotes relaxation during times of stress
• Reduces Anxiety
• Increases growth hormone levels
• Helps prevent insomnia

The Brain’s Chemical Messengers
Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that are responsible for transmitting signals from one nerve cell to another, especially in the brain. These messengers modulate and control a large number of functions in the body, including sleep, excitement, mood and memory. GABA is the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. GABA acts like a “brake” during times of stress or anxiety, regulating brain excitability and inducing relaxation.

Rest and Relaxation
Research has shown that supplementation with GABA is beneficial for a large number of mood disorders. GABA has been used to address the symptoms of anxiety, depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder and manic-depressive (bipolar affective) disorder. Additionally, GABA has been shown to be an effective solution for individuals suffering with insomnia, and can also act to increase growth hormone levels in the blood.

Potential Help for Epilepsy
In addition to mood disorders, GABA has also been studied for its potential benefit for individuals with disorders linked to overstimulation of the brain's motor centers, like epilepsy. Many drugs for the treatment of epileptic seizures actually enhance the levels of GABA in the brain or mimic its effects. As such, supplementation with GABA itself may help to reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.

Neurotransmitters are like tiny messengers in the brain, transmitting signals from one neuron to another and modulating a huge number of functions in the human body, including sleep, mood, excitability, memory and relaxation. Imbalances in neurotransmitter levels can result in serious health problems including Parkinson’s disease, depression and other mood disorders.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA is the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. GABA therefore acts as an inhibitor of nerve impulses or signals between neurons in the human brain and spinal cord, effectively creating a ‘calming effect’ by preventing the overstimulation of the brain. For example, during times of stress, GABA acts to regulate brain excitability, promoting a relaxed state and preventing anxiety. GABA receptors are highly concentrated in the thymus; the region of the brain associated with sleep. GABA is effective against a variety of central nervous system disorders, and has been shown to affect the brain directly, increasing alpha-brain waves (those associated with relaxation) and reducing beta-brain waves (those associated with anxiety and stress).

Research with GABA supplementation has focused on addressing conditions of anxiety, growth hormone deficiency, depression, epilepsy, and various other disorders of the central nervous system. In the early 1980’s, researchers believed that manipulating GABA receptors could alleviate the symptoms of anxiety, and supplementation with GABA itself was one such form of manipulation. This conclusion has since been strengthened by numerous studies confirming a direct correlation between major depressive disorder (MDD) and significantly decreased GABA concentrations in the occipital cortex of MDD subjects. This well-established correlation has led to the use of supplemental GABA as a means of addressing not only the symptoms of anxiety, but also of depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder and manic-depressive (bipolar affective) disorder. The strategy is relatively straightforward; GABA inhibits the production of excitatory impulses from reaching the brain, including those that enhance panic, alarm, and/or fear. Anti-anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepine that are normally prescribed for such conditions can become addictive, a risk that is non-existent with GABA supplementation. Indeed, some research even supports using GABA to facilitate withdrawal from benzodiazepine medications.

In addition to mood disorders, GABA research has also been applied to the study of epilepsy, particularly in regard to how GABA supplementation can reduce the frequency and intensity of seizures. GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, and anticonvulsant drugs for the treatment of epileptic seizures are designed to enhance endogenous GABA levels (i.e. Vigabatrin) or mimic its effects (i.e. Gabapentin). This emphasis on maintaining high levels of GABA has once again led to the formularized justification of GABA supplementation, this time to offset epileptic seizures.

Finally, researchers have long believed that GABA can alleviate the symptoms of insomnia due to its ability to generate calm (via its inhibition of excitatory neural impulses) and thus induce sleep. The increase of plasma growth hormone (which also rises naturally during sleep) is yet another capability that has been attributed to exogenous GABA supplementation. This capability has made GABA a relative staple of the life-extensionist movement, which is always concerned with halting and/or reversing the inverse relationship between age and growth hormone levels. Research to support this exists in both human and animal studies, with one trial showing that a single 5-gram oral dose can raise growth hormone levels by as much as 550% within 90 minutes of ingestion. Elevated growth hormone levels play an important role in the prevention of a multitude of age-related conditions, including sarcopenia, metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, and an overall impaired quality of life.