A striking feature of many excitatory synapses in the central nervous system is that the neurotransmitter glutamate simultaneously activates receptors with very different pharmacological properties. Notably, AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) receptors open and close rapidly and mediate fast signalling, whereas NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors have slow, voltage-dependent kinetics, are permeable to calcium, and are central to the induction of long-term synaptic plasticity. On page 151 of this issue, a report by Mainen et al. challenges a widespread assumption about how glutamate activates NMDA receptors.
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