Specific neurotransmitter receptor supports optimal information processing in the brain

Researchers have been fascinated for a long time by learning and memory formation, and many questions are still open. Now neuroscientists have discovered a key building block for this complex process. A particular neurotransmitter receptor, namely the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5, is a switch for activating opposing forms of plasticity in the hippocampus, a brain region vital for memory forming.