Steven M Paul, James J Doherty, Albert J Robichaud, Gabriel M Belfort, Brian Y Chow, Rebecca S Hammond, Devon C Crawford, Andrew J Linsenbardt, Hong-Jin Shu, Yukitoshi Izumi, Steven J Mennerick, Charles F Zorumski
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are glutamate-gated ion channels that are critical to the regulation of excitatory synaptic function in the CNS. NMDARs govern experience-dependent synaptic plasticity and have been implicated in the pathophysiology of various neuropsychiatric disorders including the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia and certain forms of autism. Certain neurosteroids modulate NMDARs experimentally but their low potency, poor selectivity, and very low brain concentrations make them poor candidates as endogenous ligands or therapeutic agents...
October 30, 2013: Journal of Neuroscience: the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience