SnRNA-seq reveals seizure-induced remodelling of excitatory and inhibitory neuron populations.

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are one of the most commonly prescribed classes of drugs worldwide for conditions including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and epilepsy (McAuley et al. ). BZDs have been found to be prescribed in 3.2% of primary care visits and 3.8–7.4% of ambulatory care visits in the United States (Agarwal and Landon ; Weleff et al. ), but higher rates of prescription use have been reported by other countries, such as Spain (López-Pelayo et al. ) and Israel (Steinman et al. ). Long-term use of BZDs is common (Cadogan et al. ; Kaufmann et al. ; López-Pelayo et al. ; Murphy et al. ) despite prescription guidelines discouraging this due to the high risk of physical dependence and addiction (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, ; The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, ). There are high rates of recreational use of BZDs (Schmitz ) with the main reasons reported as self-medication of anxiety or sleeping disorders (Wilde et al. ); however, they are most often used in combination with other drugs, particularly opioids and alcohol, for the reduction of unwanted effects of the other drug(s), such as withdrawal and insomnia, or enhancement of euphoric effects of the other drug(s) (Jones et al. ; Schmitz ). The use of BZDs has increasingly involved illicitly produced tablets, which are often indistinguishable from their pharmaceutical counterparts (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) ; McAuley et al. ). In the past, the majority of illicit BZD products used were diverted prescription BZDs like alprazolam (also known by the brand name Xanax; Fig. D) and diazepam (also known by the brand name Valium; Fig. E), but since 2007, the prevalence of designer BZDs (DBZDs) has been increasing (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) ). Chemical structures of the designer benzodiazepines ethylbromazolam, bromazolam, clobromazolam, desalkylgidazepam (bromonordiazepam) and other common benzodiazepines identified in this study alprazolam, diazepam