The present invention provides novel 2-pyridinyl[7(pyridin-4-yl)pyrazolo[1- ,5-a]pyrimidin-3-yl]methanones with at least one substituent on both the 2- and 4-pyridinyl ring having the chemical structure of formula I: 1 The invention further provides compositions and methods employing the novel 2-pyridinyl[7-(pyridin-4-yl)pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-3-yl]methanone- s of formula I to modulate GABA and GABA.sub.A receptor physiology to elicit therapeutic responses in mammalian subjects to alleviate neurological or psychiatric disorders, including stroke, head trauma, epilepsy, pain, migraine, mood disorders, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorders, mania, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, seizures, convulsions, tinnitus, neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, Huntington's chorea, depression, bipolar disorders, mania, trigeminal and other neuralgia, neuropathic pain, hypertension, cerebral ischemia, cardiac arrhythmia, myotonia, substance abuse, myoclonus, essential tremor, dyskinesia and other movement disorders, neonatal cerebral hemorrhage, and spasticity, as well as other psychiatric and neurological disorders mediated by GABA and/or GABA.sub.A receptors.