Excitatory Amino Acid Transmission in Health and Disease

This book provides a comprehensive, easy-to-read survey of excitatory amino acids and synaptic transmission. It begins with descriptions of the structure, function, and pharmacology of both the ionotropic and the metabotropic glutamate receptors and the glutamate transporters. Subsequent chapters deal with molecular aspects of the regulation of glutamatergic transmission, including receptor trafficking, the role of glutamate transport, the unique molecular architecture of the synapses (post-synaptic density), and the signal transduction pathways mediated by glutamate. Also unique to the book is a chapter on synaptic plasticity that covers long-term potentiation and long-term depression in relationship to synaptic function. It is striking that glutamate is implicated in most of the major diseases in the central nervous system, such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia. This book will be invaluable for neuroscientists, pharmacologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists and for their students and trainees as well as for others interested in the causes of these disorders and the new therapeutic strategies for their treatment and prevention.