Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Application of a NMDA Receptor Conductance in Rat Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons Using the Dynamic Clamp Technique
Published on: December 21, 2010
Do NMDA receptor kinetics regulate the end of critical periods of plasticity?
A E Medina1, D S Liao, A F Mower
1Department of Anatomy, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
Abstract:
Increasing NR2A subunit expression and the associated shortening of the NMDA-EPSC are thought to underlie the loss of diverse types of sensory cortical plasticity. Lu and colleagues (Lu et al., 2001 [this issue of Neuron]) now report that mice lacking the NR2A subunit display normal duration of critical periods of barrel cortex plasticity. Shortening of the NMDA-EPSC is therefore not responsible for the end of these critical periods.
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