Sherman S Murray
1The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Neuroscientist. 2014 Apr;20(2):136-49. doi: 10.1177/1073858413478490. Epub 2013 Mar 4.
Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are found throughout thalamus and cortex and are clearly important to circuit behavior in both structures, and so considering only participation of ionotropic glutamate receptors (e.g., [R,S]-α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid [AMPA] and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors [NMDA] receptors) in glutamatergic processing would be an unfortunate oversimplification. These mGluRs are found both postsynaptically, on target cells of glutamatergic afferents, and presynaptically, on various synaptic terminals themselves, and when activated, they produce prolonged effects lasting at least hundreds of msec to several sec and perhaps longer. Two main types exist: activation of group I mGluRs causes postsynaptic depolarization, and group II, hyperpolarization. Both types are implicated in synaptic plasticity, both short term and long term. Their evident importance in functioning of thalamus and cortex makes it critical to develop a better understanding of how these receptors are normally activated, especially because they also seem implicated in a wide range of neurological and cognitive pathologies.
代谢型谷氨酸受体（mGluRs）在整个丘脑和皮层中均有发现，并且对这两个结构中的神经回路活动显然非常重要。因此，仅考虑离子型谷氨酸受体（例如，[R,S]-α-氨基-3-羟基-5-甲基-4-异恶唑丙酸[AMPA]和N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸受体[NMDA]）参与谷氨酸能信号处理将是一种不幸的过度简化。这些mGluRs既存在于突触后，即谷氨酸能传入神经的靶细胞上，也存在于突触前，即各种突触终末本身上。当被激活时，它们会产生持续至少数百毫秒至数秒甚至更长时间的延长效应。主要存在两种类型：I组mGluRs的激活会导致突触后去极化，而II组则导致超极化。这两种类型都与短期和长期的突触可塑性有关。它们在丘脑和皮层功能中的明显重要性使得更深入地了解这些受体通常是如何被激活变得至关重要，特别是因为它们似乎也与广泛的神经和认知病理学有关。
