NMDA

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NMDA

IUPAC name	N-methyl-D-aspartic acid
Identifiers
CAS number	[6384-92-5]
PubChem	22880
MeSH	NMDA
SMILES	[C@@H](CC(O[H])=O)(C(O[H])=O)N([H])C([H])([H])[H]
Properties
Molecular formula	C₅H₉NO₄
Molar mass	147.13 D
Boiling point	549.62
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references

NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartic acid) is an amino acid derivative acting as a specific agonist at the NMDA receptor, and therefore mimics the action of the neurotransmitter glutamate on that receptor. In contrast to glutamate, NMDA binds to and regulates the above receptor only, but not other glutamate receptors.

NMDA is a water-soluble synthetic substance that is not normally found in biological tissue. It was first synthesized in the 1960's. NMDA is an excitotoxin; this trait has applications in behavioral neuroscience research. The body of work utilizing this technique falls under the term "lesion studies." Researchers apply NMDA to specific regions of an (animal) subject's brain or spinal cord and subsequently test for the behavior of interest, such as operant behavior. If the behavior is compromised, it suggests the destroyed tissue was part of a brain region that made an important contribution to the normal expression of that behavior.

1 Antagonists
2 Forms
3 Neuronal development
4 References
5 Bibliography

[edit] Antagonists

Main article: NMDA receptor antagonist

Examples of antagonists of the NMDA receptor are APV, Amantadine, dextromethorphan, ketamine, phencyclidine (PCP), riluzole, memantine, and kynurenic acid, the only known endogenous antagonist. They are commonly referred to as NMDA receptor antagonists.

[edit] Forms

The structural formula of NMDA pictured above is written down as the neutral form. At physiological pH both carboxyl groups are deprotonated.

[edit] Neuronal development

A 2008 PNAS paper notes: "How the billions of synapses in the adult mammalian brain are precisely specified remains one of the fundamental questions of neuroscience. Although a genetic program is likely to encode the basic neural blueprint, much evidence suggests that experience-driven activity through NMDA receptors wires up neuronal circuits"[1]