Glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS.1,2 Glutamate plays key roles in nearly every function of the brain3,4. Nearly all excitatory neurons in the CNS are glutamatergic – more than half of the neurons in the brain2,5,6. It is noteworthy, though, that high concentrations of glutamate are neurotoxic, capable of triggering excitotoxicity6. There are three types of receptor to which glutamate can bind (named after the synthetic agonists that activate them), each of which has slightly different properties:3
- NMDA (N-methyl-d-aspartate)
- AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate)
- kainate (kainic acid)
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