Trileptal is a derivative of carbamazepine.

Voltage-gated sodium channels ( aka integral membrane proteins, or protein molecules, that form ion channels, conducting sodium ions through a cell’s plasma membrane, or the biological membrane separating the interior of a cell from the outside environment.) are the molecular pores that allow brain cells to generate action potential, or nerve impulses, the electrical events that allow neurons to communicate over long distances. After the sodium channels open to start the action potential, they inactivate, essentially closing the channel. Carbamazepine stabilizes the inactivated state of sodium channels, meaning that fewer of these channels are available to subsequently open, making brain cells less excitable.

Carbamazepine has also been shown to increase the effectiveness of GABA receptors made up of alpha1, beta2, gamma2 subunits.