glutamate

n. a salt or ester of the amino acid glutamic acid that serves as the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. Glutamate plays a critical role in cognitive, motor, and sensory functions. It exerts its effects by binding to glutamate receptors on neurons. Excessive activity of glutamate at these receptors is associated with damage to nerve tissue (neurotoxicity) and cell death (see excitotoxicity), possibly the result of calcium ions flooding into the cell following overstimulation of NMDA receptors.

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Psychology term of the day

March 13th 2025

Life Events Rating Scale

an instrument used to measure the relative impact of diverse stress-producing life experiences, changes, and crises. The derived score is expressed in life-change units. The scale is more formally known as the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. [developed in 1967 by U.S. psychiatrists Thomas H. Holmes and Richard H. Rahe]