ABSTRACT

Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are ubiquitous throughout the mammalian CNS, where they mediate most excitatory synaptic transmission and participate in the plasticity of synaptic connections. Within the basal ganglia, alongside metabotropic glutamate receptors (Chapter 1), they respond to glutamate released from excitatory afferents to the striatum and to the midbrain nuclei, two pivotal points at which glutamatergic control in›uences the output of the basal ganglia.