Chapter 1 NMDA Receptors and Brain Development

More than 20 years have passed since the discovery that NMDAR-mediated synaptic activity is important for the functional development of sensory brain circuits [1] by specifically regulating the refinement of sensory topographic maps [2]. Since then we have learned in great detail how this receptor shapes the development of neurons and neuronal circuits. The diversity of NMDAR subunits and their unique developmental and spatial expression patterns add levels of complexity to the role of the NMDARs in development that are only beginning to be understood. In this chapter, we will examine NMDARs and their role in brain development from a circuit perspective, on the single neuron level and on the synaptic level.