In the mammalian CNS, fast excitatory neurotransmission is mainly mediated by ionotropic glutamate receptors of the AMPA subtype (AMPARs). They conduct cation currents under conditions of basal neuronal activity and determine largely the strength of excitatory glutamatergic synapses. Changes in synaptic AMPAR density and their gating properties are centrally involved in forms of synaptic plasticity [1]–[3].
