The main objective of this study was to establish the contribution of NMDA receptors to natural processing of somatosensory information within rat SI barrel cortex. Responses of 52 cells in layers I-IV of the rat barrel cortex were analyzed by PSTH (peristimulus histogram) analysis of evoked spikes in reply to brief deflections of the principal whisker in animals anesthetized with urethane. Sho...

N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are ion channels activated by the neurotransmitter glutamate in the mammalian brain and are important in synaptic function and plasticity, but are also found in extrasynaptic locations and influence neuronal excitability. There are different NMDA receptor subtypes which differ in their single-channel conductance. Recently, synaptic plasticity has been studi...

In the central nervous system, NMDA receptors mediate excitatory neurotransmissions and play important roles in synaptic plasticity. The regulation of NMDA receptor trafficking is critical for neural functions in the brain. Here, we directly visualized individual exocytic events of NMDA receptors in rat hippocampal neurons by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM). We found t...

Objective: Cinnamaldehyde may be responsible for some health benefits of cinnamon such as its neuroprotective effects. We aimed to investigate the cinnamaldehyde neuroprotective effects against amyloid beta (Aβ) in neuronal SHSY5Y cells and evaluate the contribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), ryanodine, and adenosine receptors and glycogen ...

Abstract Excitatory synaptic transmission in many neurons is mediated by two coexpressed ionotropic glutamate receptor subtypes, AMPA and NMDA receptors, that differ kinetics, ion selectivity, voltage-sensitivity. receptors have fast kinetics are voltage-insensitive, while slower increased conductance at depolarized membrane potentials. Here, we report the voltage dependency of act synergistica...

Developing procedures to delay the mechanisms of acute liver failure-induced death would increase patients' survival by allowing time for liver regeneration or to receive a liver for transplantation. Hyperammonemia is a main contributor to brain herniation and mortality in acute liver failure (ALF). Acute ammonia intoxication in rats leads to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation in b...

There is accumulating evidence to implicate the importance of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors to the induction and maintenance of central sensitization during pain states. However, NMDA receptors may also mediate peripheral sensitization and visceral pain. NMDA receptors are composed of NR1, NR2 (A, B, C, and D), and NR3 (A and B) subunits, which determine the functional properties of nat...