Novel synthetic routes have been devised for the preparation of previously inaccessible 2,3,7-trisubstituted pyrazolo[1,5-d][1,2,4]triazines 2. These compounds are high affinity ligands for the GABA(A) benzodiazepine binding site and some analogues show functional selectivity for agonism at alpha 3-containing receptors over alpha 1-containing receptors with the lead compound being 32. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.