Gamma-amino butyric acid benzodiazepines

Flurazepam (15 to 30 mg p.o. at bedtime) is a benzodiazepine derivative sedative-hypnotic that is used in the management of insomnia. Flurazepam depresses the CNS at the limbic and subcortical levels of the brain. It produces a sedative effect by potentiating the effect of the neurotransmitter gamma-amino-butyric acid on its receptor in the ascending reticular activating system, which increases inhibition and blocks both cortical and limbic arousal (see also Figure 50). 

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