Glutamate (neurotransmitter)
In neuroscience, glutamate refers to the anion of glutamic acid in its role as a neurotransmitter: a chemical that nerve cells use to send signals to other cells. It is by a wide margin the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate nervous system. It is used by every major excitatory function in the vertebrate brain, accounting in total for well over 90% of the synaptic connections in the human brain. It also serves as the primary neurotransmitter for some localized brain regions, such as cerebellum granule cells.
Benzodiazepine dependence
Withdrawal symptoms are a normal response in individuals having chronically used benzodiazepines, and an adverse effect and result of drug tolerance. Symptoms typically emerge when dosage of the drug is reduced. GABA is the second-most-common neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (the most common being glutamate) and by far the most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter; roughly one-quarter to one-third of synapses use GABA. The use of benzodiazepines has a profound effect on almost every aspect of brain and body function, either directly or indirectly.