Excitatory amino acids and central synaptic transmission

Abstract

Different types of excitatory amino acid receptors probably exercise specific functional roles within the mammalian CNS. l-Glutamate may be the transmitter at all of these receptors, with extracellular Mg²⁺ regulating the sensitivity of one particular receptor-ionophore system. As Jeff Watkins explains, this probable role of l-glutamate remains unproven. But progress is being made in characterizing the receptors with which it is proposed to interact. This has led to the development of pharmacological ligands which may, in the future, form the basis of a new class of centrally-acting drugs.