Abstract
Studies of higher order brain function, including learning and memory, require understanding of mechanisms that underlie changes in synaptic strength brought about by NMDA receptor activation. Studies with recombinant receptors have demonstrated that variation in subunit composition imparts functional diversity to NMDA receptors; however the exact makeup of native receptors is not known. Therefore, it is important to evaluate receptors functionally under minimal disruption, such as in acute brain slices, where pathways are relatively intact and potentially non-overlapping. NMDA receptors have traditionally been considered to be diheteromeric, composed of duplicate sets of GluN1/GluN2 or GluN1/GluN3 pairs. However, the substantial overlap in the expression of all three subunits also permits the existence of triheteromeric NMDA receptors, composed of GluN1, GluN2, and GluN3 (designated as t-NMDARs). Here, I describe a combined electrophysiological and pharmacological approach developed in my lab that can be used to evaluate functional triheteromeric NMDA receptors in acute brain slices.
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Kumar, S.S. (2016). Functional Detection of Novel Triheteromeric NMDA Receptors. In: Popescu, G. (eds) Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor Technologies. Neuromethods, vol 106. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2812-5_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2812-5_6
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