Homeopathic Doses of Gelsemium sempervirens Improve the Behavior of Mice in Response to Novel Environments

Figure 2

Hypothetical mechanism of action of G. sempervirens. Benzodiazepines act by enhancing the inhibitory effects of the neurotransmitter GABA. The neurosteroid allopregnanolone is produced from progesterone and acts both on the GABA receptor—at a binding site different from benzodiazepines—and on other receptors including the serotonine (5HT) and nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor, thus reducing the impulse generation in postsynaptic neurons. By fine tuning inhibitory transmission through glycinergic system and allopregnanolone synthesis [19, 20], G. sempervirens 5 CH may help the nervous system adapt to adverse situations. Due to the multicomponent nature of G. sempervirens and to our finding of preferential effects on OF paradigm even at high dilutions/dynamizations, the existence of other neurosteroid-independent mechanisms may be hypothesized.