Abstract
Excitatory amino acids such as L-glutamate and L-aspartate are well established as neurotransmitter candidates in the mammalian central nervous system, and three types of receptor for these substances have been proposed, characterized by the agonists N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), kainate and quisqualate. All these receptors have been suggested to have synaptic roles in excitatory transmission in the brain. 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 NMDA and non-NMDA receptors in the responses of VB neurones to stimulation of somatosensory somatosensory afferents, depending on the mode of stimulation of the pathway.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate
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Afferent Pathways / drug effects
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Afferent Pathways / physiology*
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Animals
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Aspartic Acid / analogs & derivatives*
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Aspartic Acid / pharmacology
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Aspartic Acid / physiology
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Electric Stimulation
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Kainic Acid / pharmacology
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Ketamine / pharmacology
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Kynurenic Acid / pharmacology
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N-Methylaspartate
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Neurons / drug effects*
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Neurons / physiology
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Oxadiazoles / pharmacology
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Quisqualic Acid
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Rats
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Receptors, AMPA
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Receptors, Drug / drug effects
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Receptors, Drug / physiology*
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Receptors, Kainic Acid
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Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
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Receptors, Neurotransmitter / drug effects
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Receptors, Neurotransmitter / physiology*
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Thalamus / physiology*
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Valine / analogs & derivatives
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Valine / pharmacology
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Vibrissae
Substances
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Oxadiazoles
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Receptors, AMPA
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Receptors, Drug
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Receptors, Kainic Acid
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Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
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Receptors, Neurotransmitter
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Aspartic Acid
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N-Methylaspartate
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Ketamine
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2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate
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Quisqualic Acid
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Kynurenic Acid
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Valine
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Kainic Acid