Excitotoxicity

From Freepedia

Excitotoxicity is the process by which cell death is produced in neurons by the overactivation of excitatory neurotransmitter receptors such as the NMDA receptor and AMPA receptor. Excitotoxins like NMDA and kainic acid which bind to these receptors, as well as pathologically high levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate, can cause excitotoxicity by allowing high levels of calcium ions to permeate into the cell, . Excitotoxicity may be involved in stroke.