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Neurobiology

Glutamate receptors on the move

Nature volume 417, pages 601–602 (2002)Cite this article

Receptors for the neurotransmitter glutamate are more mobile than previously suspected. They meander about on the neuronal surface and become reversibly trapped at the junctions between neurons.

Modulation of the number of postsynaptic AMPA receptors is a potent mechanism used by neurons to change synaptic strength2,3,4. The resulting levels of AMPA receptors can be stable over long periods, so such a mechanism also offers a way to store information and memories in the brain. For these reasons, there is great interest in the dynamic distribution of AMPA receptors in neurons, particularly in how the receptors are delivered to synapses (leading to synaptic potentiation) and how they are removed (producing synaptic depression).

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Figure 1: Wandering receptors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Picower Center for Learning and Memory, RIKEN-MIT Neuroscience Research Center, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    Morgan Sheng & Terunaga Nakagawa

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  1. Morgan Sheng
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  2. Terunaga Nakagawa
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Sheng, M., Nakagawa, T. Glutamate receptors on the move. Nature 417, 601–602 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/417601a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/417601a

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