NMDA receptor

Synaptic plasticity

Neuroscience

Biology

Excitatory postsynaptic potential

Receptor

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential

Neurotransmission

Biochemistry

Long-term depression

Ion channel linked receptors

Glutamate receptor

Allosteric regulation

AMPA receptor

The Journal of General Physiology

NMDA-type glutamate receptors are ligand-gated ion channels that mediate a Ca2+-permeable component of excitatory neurotransmission in the central nervous system (CNS). They are expressed throughout the CNS and play key physiological roles in synaptic function, such as synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. NMDA receptors are also implicated in the pathophysiology of several CNS disorders and more recently have been identified as a locus for disease-associated genomic variation. NMDA receptors exist as a diverse array of subtypes formed by variation in assembly of seven subunits (GluN1, GluN2A-D, and GluN3A-B) into tetrameric receptor complexes. These NMDA receptor subtypes show unique structural features that account for their distinct functional and pharmacological properties allowing precise tuning of their physiological roles. Here, we review the relationship between NMDA receptor structure and function with an emphasis on emerging atomic resolution structures, which begin to explain unique features of this receptor.

Structure, function, and allosteric modulation of NMDA receptors