Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-gated ion channels are widely distributed in the mammalian brain and are major mediators of inhibitory synaptic transmission. A typical GABA ion channel has a pentameric structure consisting of 5 protein subunits, often α, β and γ or δ, combining to form a central ion conducting pore across the cell membrane. In humans there are six genes that encode α subunits, three that encode β, three that encode γ, and an additional seven genes that encode other subunits whose function is less-well understood than the α, β and γ subunits. GABA ion channels open and close in response to secretion of GABA from presynaptic terminals. GABA_A α6 channels are typically comprised of α6, β2 or β3, and γ2 subunits and this combination is preferentially expressed in the mammalian cerebellum in granule cells (Mohler & Rudolph 2004). GABA_A α6-containing receptors are located synaptically and comprise <5% of all GABA_A receptors located in the brain. These receptors are insensitive to benzodiazepines.