title: Desensitization at the interface.
abstract: Normal brain function requires the faithful transmission and integration of information on a timescale of milliseconds, and this rapid signaling is mediated by cell membrane receptors that are ligand-gated ion channels. Fast excitatory transmission occurs when synaptically released glutamate opens channels in neighboring neurons, but these channels desensitize rapidly during sustained high-frequency firing. Recent structural data have begun to provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie channel activation and desensitization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, SHM B-251, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. james.howe@yale.edu
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Howe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter