Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. GABA exerts its effects through ionotropic [GABA(A/C)] receptors, to produce fast synaptic inhibition, and metabotropic [GABA(B)] receptors, to produce slow, prolonged inhibitory signals. The GABA(B) receptor consists of a heterodimer of two related 7-transmembrane receptors, GABA(B) receptor 1 and GABA(B) receptor 2. The GABA(B) receptor 1 gene is mapped to chromosome 6p21.3 within the HLA class I region close to the HLA-F gene. Susceptibility loci for multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and schizophrenia have also been mapped in this region. Alternative splicing of this gene generates multiple transcript variants.