“…Based on the preclinical data on gaboxadol demonstrating a hypnotic profile in rats (Thakkar et al, 2008) and that the effects of the drug on EEG were blunted in d 0/0 mice (Winsky-Sommerer et al, 2007), it was pursued as a novel treatment for insomnia, reaching phase III clinical development (Wafford and Ebert, 2006;Roth et al, 2010). Given the literature indicating a role for d-GABAA receptors in female stress disorders (Maguire and Mody, 2007;Smith et al, 2007), epilepsy (Mihalek et al, 1999), pain (Peng et al, 2009;Bonin et al, 2011), post-traumatic stress disorder (Wiltgen et al, 2005;Pibiri et al, 2008), schizophrenia (Marx et al, 2006), autism (Olmos-Serrano et al, 2011), major depression (Holm et al, 2010) and potentially alcoholism (Enoch, 2008;Rewal et al, 2009), the need for d-selective tools is clear. Furthermore, it should not be overlooked that a major swathe of the literature, only partly cited above, alluding to the potential therapeutic relevance of d-GABAA receptors has been based on studies with neurosteroids, which are not completely selective for these extrasynaptic receptors (Belelli et al, 2009).…”