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Mediation of thalamic sensory input by both NMDA receptors and non-NMDA receptors

Nature volume 322, pages 263–265 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Excitatory amino acids such as L-glutamate and L-aspartate are well established as neurotransmitter candidates in the mammalian central nervous system1, and three types of receptor for these substances have been proposed, characterized by the agonists N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), kainate and quisqualate1. All these receptors have been suggested to have synaptic roles in excitatory transmission in the brain1–7. Here I demonstrate that NMDA receptors play a crucial role in the observed response of ventrobasal thalamus (VB) neurones to natural stimulation of somatosensory afferents, but do not appear to be responsible for the short-latency excitation seen on electrical stimulation of the afferents, which is apparently mediated by excitatory amino-acid receptors of the non-NMDA type. This result indicates an involvement of both NMDA and non-NMDA receptors in the responses of VB neurones to stimulation of somatosensory afferents, depending on the mode of stimulation of the pathway.

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  1. Department of Physiology, University College, Cardiff, PO Box 78, Cardiff, CF1 1XL, UK

    T. E. Salt

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Salt, T. Mediation of thalamic sensory input by both NMDA receptors and non-NMDA receptors. Nature 322, 263–265 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/322263a0

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