AMPA

AMPA (2-amino-3-(5-methyl-3-oxo-1,2- oxazol-4-yl)propanoic acid) is a compound that is a specific agonist for the AMPA receptor, where it mimics the effects of the neurotransmitter glutamate.

There are two broad categories of glutamate receptors: ionotropic receptors and metabotropic receptors. Ionotropic glutamate receptors are ligand gated ion channels whose agonists include AMPA, Kainate and NMDA. Metabotropic receptors are G-protein coupled receptors and are separated into individual classes. In the synapse, these two classes of receptors serve very different purposes. AMPA can be used experimentally to distinguish the activity of one receptor from the other in order to understand their differing functions. AMPA generates fast excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP). AMPA receptors are non-specific cationic channels allowing the passage of Sodium and Potassium. The glutamate receptor also is permeable to calcium if it is lacking the GluA2 subunit.