The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)- type glutamate receptor is one of three major classes of receptors for glutamate, the principle excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It plays a key role in learning and in the formation of memories by acting as a "coincidence detector" that initiates changes in synaptic strength that lead to the formation of new neural networks (1). It is also an important mediator of several forms of pathological neuronal toxicity. The NMDA receptor responds at a synapse only when the pre- synaptic terminal releases glutamate at the same time that the postsynaptic neu- ron is strongly depolarized by the sum of activating influences impinging on it.
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