Glutamate receptors mediate most excitatory neurotransmissions in the brain and play an important role in neural plasticity, neural development and neurodegeneration. Ionotropic glutamate receptors are divided into two categories, namely NMDA receptors and kainate/AMPA receptors, both of which contain glutamate-gated, cation-specific ion channels. Kainate/AMPA receptors consist of seven structurally related subunits, designated GluR-1 to -7, and are primarily responsible for fast excitatory