1. Stable N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor-mediated currents in cultured mouse hippocampal neurons were evoked by 20 ms pressure pulse applications of L-aspartate, repeatedly applied at 30 or 40 s intervals, to the cell body region of the neurone. We have characterized the voltage- and use-dependent blockade of the currents by three dissociative anaesthetics: ketamine, phencyclidine...
Evidence from electropharmacological experimentation favors the hypothesis that the PCP site is intimately associated with the channel domain of the NMDA receptor. But it is too early to state that this site lies deep within the NMDA channel pore. Determining the molecular details of the PCP site will require a complete and detailed kinetic analysis of NMDA single channel behavior. Furthermore,...