This gene encodes a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor. GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain where it acts at GABA-A receptors, which are ligand-gated chloride channels. Chloride conductance of these channels can be modulated by agents such as benzodiazepines that bind to the GABA-A receptor. GABA-A receptors are pentameric, consisting of proteins from several subunit classes: alpha, beta, gamma, delta and rho. The protein encoded by this gene is a gamma subunit, which contains the benzodiazepine binding site. Two transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2012]