The NMDA Receptor

This book comprises an up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of the NMDA receptor. The NMDA receptor is an important protein in the brain which is involved in physiological processes such as synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity which may underlie learning and memory. Pathological changes involving the NMDA receptors probably contribute to the development of epilepsy, acute neuronal damage such as that resulting from stroke and chronic neuropathologies such as Alzheimer's disease. There is considerable interest in the development of pharmacological agents active at NMDA receptors as new therapeutic agents.Each chapter in this book has been prepared by a leading expert in the field and has been fully updated to cover recent developments in the molecular biology and the molecular pharmacology of the NMDA receptor. This is the only book of its kind in the world.

Table of Contents:
2): Agonists and competitive antagonists: structure, activity and molecular modelling studies 3): Non-competitive antagonists of N-methyl-D-aspartate 4): Molecular pharmacology of NMDA receptors 5): Molecular biology of NMDA receptors 6): Anatomical, pharmacological, and molecular diversity of native NMDA receptor subtypes 7): The NMDA receptor, its channel, and its modulation by glycine 8): The time-course of NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic currents 9): Activation of NMDA receptors 10): NMDA receptors and their interactions with other excitatory amino acid receptors in synaptic transmission in the mammalian central nervous system 11): The importance of NMDA receptors in the processing of spinal primary afferent input patterns 12 ): The role of NMDA receptors in synaptic integration and the organization of motor patterns 13): NMDA receptors and long-term potentiation in the hippocampus 14): NMDA receptors and developmental plasticity in visual neocortex 15): The role of NMDA receptors in learning and memory 16): Clinical implications of NMDA receptors 17): The NMDA receptor in epilepsy 18): NMDA receptors, neuronal development, and neurodegeneration 19): Competitive NMDA antagonists as drugs 20): Non-competitive NMDA antagonists as drugs 1): The NMDA receptor concept: origins and development

Review :
`As a reference work for those working in any field related to EAA and NMDA receptors, this book is invaluable. Much of the history of the field of excitatory amino acids is contained within this book. I recommend it to the neuroscience researcher, as well as the clinician who wishes to have a reference work on the NMDA receptor on the bookshelf.' R. Auer, Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences, Vol. 24, No. 2, May 1997