Abstract
Acidic amino acids such as glutamate are widely accepted to be excitatory neurotransmitters throughout the cns. Although it remains difficult to identify the transmitter released at central synapses, the receptor types mediating synaptic responses can be identified with more certainty. Excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptors can be classified broadly as NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) and non-NMDA receptors, on the basis of the sensitivity of responses mediated by them to selective agonists and antagonists. It is probable that non-NMDA receptors constitute several distinct receptor types, but no definitive classification has yet emerged that satisfies all the available data. It is however likely that EAA receptors of the non-NMDA type(s) mediate a large proportion of fast synaptic transmission throughout the cns. EAAs have been the subject of many books and review articles in recent years some of which are listed with the references. This article therefore covers some fundamental points and more recent advances.
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© 1991 Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Thomson, A.M. (1991). Excitatory Amino Acid Receptor Mediated Synaptic Transmission in the Somatosensory System. In: Franzén, O., Westman, J. (eds) Information Processing in the Somatosensory System. Wenner-Gren Center International Symposium Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11597-6_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11597-6_10
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