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Visualization of glutamate as a volume transmitter
Author(s) -
Okubo Yohei,
Iino Masamitsu
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.2010.199539
Subject(s) - glutamate receptor , glutamatergic , neuroscience , excitatory postsynaptic potential , neurotransmitter , neurotransmission , chemistry , biophysics , biology , central nervous system , biochemistry , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , receptor
Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Although glutamate mediates synaptically confined point‐to‐point transmission, it has been suggested that under certain conditions glutamate may escape from the synaptic cleft (glutamate spillover), accumulate in the extrasynaptic space, and mediate volume transmission to regulate important brain functions. However, the inability to directly measure glutamate dynamics around active synapses has limited our understanding of glutamatergic volume transmission. The recent development of a family of fluorescent glutamate indicators has enabled the visualization of extrasynaptic glutamate dynamics in brain tissues. In this topical review, we examine glutamate as a volume transmitter based on novel results of glutamate imaging in the brain.