NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors are excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in the brain critical for synaptic plasticity and neuronal development. These receptors are Ca2+-permeable glutamate-gated ion channels whose physiological properties are regulated by intracellular Ca2+. We report here the purification of a 20 kDa protein identified as calmodulin that interacts with the NR1 subunit ...

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor plays an essential role in excitatory transmission, synaptic integration, and learning and memory. In the classical view, postsynaptic NMDA receptors act as canonical coincidence detectors providing a 'molecular switch' for the induction of various forms of short- and long-term synaptic plasticity. Over the past twenty years there has been accumulating e...

Activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors is known to produce arachidonic acid release, which has been implicated in excitotoxicity. Antagonists and partial agonists at the glycine site of the NMDA receptor, despite exhibiting functional differences in electrophysiological studies, inhibit glutamate-induced neurotoxicity and ischemia-induced neurodegeneration. The objective of this st...

Bivalve metamorphosis is a developmental transition from free-living larva to benthic juvenile (spat), regulated by complex interaction of neurotransmitters and neurohormones such as L-DOPA epinephrine (catecholamine). We recently suggested an N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor pathway additional previously unknown regulator bivalve metamorphosis. To explore this theory further, we successful...

The effect of spinal adenosine receptor ligation on peripheral leukocyte accumulation was studied in two rat models of inflammation. Neutrophil infiltration into dermal inflammatory sites was signficantly reduced by adenosine A1 receptor agonists injected through intrathecal catheters. These effects were reversed by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), and were mimicked by (+/-)-2-amino-5-phosphonopent...

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder characterized by abnormal mental functioning and disruptive behaviors. Abnormal expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, one of the glutamate receptor subtypes, has also been suggested to contribute to the symptoms of schizophrenia. The effect of treadmill exercise on schizophrenia-induced apoptosis in relation with NMDA receptor has not been...

Converging clinical and preclinical evidence has shown that dysfunction of the glutamate system is a core feature major depressive disorder. In this context, N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine raised growing interest as fast acting antidepressant. Using chronic mild stress (CMS) rat model depression, performed in male rats, we aimed at analyzing whether hippocampal specifi...

Under physiological conditions N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation requires coincidence of presynaptic glutamate release and postsynaptic depolarization due to the voltage-dependent block of these receptors by extracellular Mg 2+. Therefore, spontaneous neurotransmission in the absence of action potential firing is not expected to lead to significant NMDA receptor activation. Here, ...

Glutamate works as a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate retina. Whole-cell recordings made from isolated carp cone horizontal cells (H1 cells) showed that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), co-applied with glycine, induced inward currents that were blocked by the NMDA receptor competitive antagonist D-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoate (D-AP5) and 5,7-dichlorokynurenic acid (DCKA), a sele...

Glutamate plays a pivotal role in drug addiction, and the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor subtype serves as a molecular target for several drugs of abuse. In this review, we will provide an overview of NMDA receptor structure and function, followed by a review of the mechanism of action, clinical efficacy, and side effect profile of NMDA receptor ligands that are currently in use...