Page 57 - AN-1-2

Advanced Neurology

REVIEW ARTICLE
NMDA receptors: Biological properties and their

roles in neuropsychiatric disorders

Qing-Qing Li *, Xiao Lin , and Yun Stone Shi 1,2
1
2
1 State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center, Department
of Neurology, Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210032, China
2 Guangdong Institute of Intelligence Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519031, China

Abstract

Proper signal transmission is the fundamental process of the brain activity. Changes
and adaption of neuroplasticity based on the strength of synaptic transmission
are essential for the information propagation in the central nervous system,
which contribute to cognition, learning, and memory. Being the major excitatory
neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, glutamate acts primarily through
binding to the glutamate receptors, the glutamate-gated ion channels localized on
post-synaptic membrane. The ionotropic glutamate receptors, pharmacologically
grouped into α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptors,
N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors, and kainate receptors, have been shown
to play distinct roles in excitatory neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity. Due to
their high permeability to Ca , the NMDA receptors have very unique function in
2+
neurotransmission and particular importance in the induction of long-term synaptic
plasticity. Dysfunction of NMDA receptors causes impairment in synaptic plasticity
and learning and memory. In recent years, with the development of genome-wide
*Corresponding author: association studies and next-generation sequencing technology, mutations of
Qing-Qing Li (liqq@nicemice.cn) NMDA receptor subunits have been in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as
Citation: Li QQ, Lin X, Shi YS, cognitive impairment, schizophrenia, autism or epilepsy. In clinical practice, NMDA
2022, NMDA receptors: Biological receptors are known as the targets for the treatment of many neuropsychiatric
properties and their roles in disorders. In current review, we summarize current knowledge of NMDA receptors
neuropsychiatric disorders. Adv
Neuro, 1(2): 148. with different subunit compositions in the context of expression pattern, channel
https://doi.org/10.36922/an.v1i2.148 properties, protein trafficking, and synaptic plasticity as well as their roles in
Received: July 4, 2022 neuropsychiatric disorders.
Accepted: August 12, 2022
Keywords: NMDA receptor; Ion channel; Protein trafficking; Synaptic plasticity;
Published Online: August 29, 2022
Neuropsychiatric disorders
Copyright: © 2022 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is The ionotropic glutamate receptors play essential roles in excitatory neurotransmission.
properly cited. When action potential propagates through the axons, glutamate released from the
Publisher’s Note: AccScience vesicles at the presynaptic terminals enters the synaptic cleft, the tiny, and highly
Publishing remains neutral with organized extracellular space, where the neurotransmission occurs. The glutamate
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional binds to ionotropic glutamate receptors on the post-synaptic membrane and triggers
affiliations. the ion channel function, which gives rise to neuronal signal transfer between neurons.

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2022) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/an.v1i2.148