Enhancement of GABA-related signalling is associated with increase of functional connectivity in human cortex

Structural or operational synchrony analysis with EEG was conducted in order to detect functional interaction between cortical areas during an enhanced inhibition induced by the GABAergic agonist lorazepam in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study in eight healthy human subjects. Specifically, we investigated whether a neuronal inhibitory system in the brain mediates functional decoupling of cortical areas. Single-dose lorazepam administration resulted in a widespread increase in the inter-area functional connectivity and an increase in the strength of functional long-range and interhemispheric connections. These results suggest that inhibition can be an efficient mechanism for synchronization of large neuronal populations. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.