glutamate

glutamate /glu·ta·mate/ (gloo´tah-māt) a salt of glutamic acid; in biochemistry, the term is often used interchangeably with glutamic acid.

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glu·ta·mate (glt-mt)

n.

1. A salt of glutamic acid.

2. An ester of glutamic acid.

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glutamate

[glo̅o̅′təmāt]

a salt of glutamic acid. In addition to being one of the 20 major amino acids incorporated into the peptide chains of proteins, it is a major excitatory amino acid of the central nervous system.

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glutamate (glōōˑ·t·māt),

n an excitatory neurotransmitter found in the central nervous system of mammals and used as a flavor enhancer in its sodium salt form, monosodium glutamate (MSG). Controversy surrounds MSG and glutamate because of its role in MSG symptom complex (also known as the
Chinese restaurant syndrome) and its deleterious effects as a potential excitotoxin.

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glutamate

Glu; the anionic form of glutamic acid; in biochemistry, the term is often used interchangeably with glutamic acid.

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glutamate dehydrogenase (GD)

see glutamate dehydrogenase.

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cone pedicle 

The wide synaptic terminal of a cone photoreceptor located in the outer molecular (outer plexiform) layer of the retina. There are deep pits (invaginations) in the base of the terminal that contain the dendrites of bipolar and horizontal cells, often two of the former and one of the latter, in each invagination. The neurotransmitter is glutamate, which is stored in vesicles contained in the terminals, and when the photoreceptors are stimulated by light the release of glutamate is decreased. See cone cell; hyperpolarization; neuro-transmitter.

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neurotransmitter

A substance stored in the synaptic vesicles that is released when the axon terminal is excited by a nervous impulse. The substance then travels across the synaptic cleft to either excite or inhibit another neuron. This is accomplished by either decreasing the negativity of postsynaptic potentials (excitation), or increasing the negativity of postsynaptic potentials (inhibition). Common neurotransmitters include acetylcholine, dopamine, endorphins, adrenaline (epinephrine), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), amino acids, such as glutamate and glycine, noradrenaline (norepinephrine), serotonin and substance P. Common neurotransmitters in the retina are glutamate (the primary excitatory neurotransmitter), GABA (inhibitory), glycine (inhibitory), dopamine (excitatory) and acetylcholine (excitatory). See neuron; synapse.

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rod spherule 

The onion-shaped synaptic terminal of a rod photoreceptor located in the outer molecular (plexiform) layer of the retina. There is a deep pit (invagination) in the base of the terminal, which contains the dendrites of bipolar and horizontal cells, often two of each. The neurotransmitter is glutamate, which is stored in vesicles contained in the terminal, and when the photoreceptors are stimulated by light the release of glutamate is decreased. See rod cell; hyperpolarization; neuro-transmitter.