Channel gating of NMDA receptors
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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

One-channel Cell-attached Patch-clamp Recording
Published on: June 9, 2014
1Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, 446 Crawford Hall, 15260, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Abstract:
Glutamate receptors specifically activated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA receptors) are ion channels that play multiple fundamental roles in the physiology of vertebrate nervous systems. The mechanisms that control the opening and closing, or gating, of the channel of NMDA receptors are among the most basic determinants of receptor function, and yet are not well understood. Here we consider current understanding of the link between agonist binding and NMDA receptor channel gating, of the conformational changes that occur during gating, and of the location of the channel gate. Information is drawn from studies of NMDA receptors themselves, of other types of glutamate receptors, and of more distantly related potassium channels.
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