Kainate receptors are tetramers assembled from specific protein subunits including the GluR5, GluR6, and GluR7 subunits (Pinheiro and Mulle, 2006). Different combinations of subunits and splice variants show different regional distributions and different physiologic properties. The receptors play a key role in the regulation of neuronal excitability, including phasic and tonic modulation of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter release. Although kainate receptors may play a role in the effects of alcohol, these receptors are inhibited by ethanol at concentrations higher than those required to antagonize NMDA receptors, but at levels often reached in vivo during intoxication (Dodd et al. 2000, Krystal et al. 2003).
