What role do NMDA and AMPA receptors play in long-term potentiation?

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of signal transmission form neural circuits and thus are thought to underlie learning and memory. These mechanisms are mediated by AMPA receptor (AMPAR) trafficking in postsynaptic neurons.

How does the activation of AMPA contribute to the activation of NMDA?

Activation of AMPA receptors induces sodium influx through the channels, which in turn overcomes the voltage-dependent Mg++ blockade of NMDA receptors. The calcium influx resulting from this triggers a series of signal transduction cascades involving kinases, phosphatases, and scaffolding proteins.

What is the role of NMDA receptors?

NMDA receptors play crucial roles in many neurological functions. In central synapses, these receptors regulate the structural and functional plasticity of synapses, dendrites, and neurons by activating a series of calcium-mediated signaling pathways.

What are AMPA and NMDA receptors?

AMPA receptors are a type of glutamate receptors whose activation results in the influx of sodium and potassium ions. On the other hand, NMDA receptors are another type of glutamate receptor whose activation results in the influx of calcium ions in addition to the sodium and potassium ions.

What neuronal process does the NMDA receptor facilitate?

At central synapses, NMDA receptors (NMDARs) enhance postsynaptic depolarization due to their slow deactivation kinetics (Cull- Candy and Usowicz, 1987), suggesting that they could promote synaptic amplification in the developing cochlea to facilitate neuronal integration.

What role do NMDA glutamate receptors appear to play in memory formation?

NMDA receptors are now understood to critically regulate a physiologic substrate for memory function in the brain. In brief, the activation of postsynaptic NMDA receptors in most hippocampal pathways controls the induction of an activity-dependent synaptic modification called long-term potentiation (FTP).

What happens when NMDA receptors are activated?

Activation of NMDA receptors results in the opening of the ion channel that is nonselective to cations, with a combined reversal potential near 0 mV. While the opening and closing of the ion channel is primarily gated by ligand binding, the current flow through the ion channel is voltage-dependent.

What type of receptor is AMPA?

The GluA2 C terminus interacts with and binds to N-ethylmaleimide sensitive fusion protein, which allows for the rapid insertion of GluR2-containing AMPA receptors at the synapse. In addition, GluR2/3 subunits are more stably tethered to the synapse than GluR1 subunits.