Anticonvulsants as Anxiolytics, Part 1: Tiagabine and Other Anticonvulsants With Actions on GABA

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Anticonvulsants are proving to have much broader utility in psychiatry and neurology than in just the treatment of seizure disorders, with the expanded indications dependent on the specific pharmacologic mechanism of action of a given anticonvulsant.¹ Increasing evidence shows dysfunction of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic system to be pivotal to the pathogenesis of anxiety2-4; thus, augmenting GABA neurotransmission may be expected to have anxiolytic actions.²