The Effects of NR2 Subunit-Dependent NMDA Receptor Kinetics on Synaptic Transmission and CaMKII Activation
Figure 2
Time open and receptor failure.
(A,B) Upon opening, NR2B-containing receptors stayed open much longer than NR2A-containing receptors. The late decay component time constant was twice as slow, and the weighted time constant of decay (τw) was 10 times slower. (C) The probability of at least one receptor opening, given the number of receptors at the synapse, shows that very few NR2A-containing receptors are needed to provide near-perfect fidelity. (D) Total time open, given the number of receptors. Despite the fact that NR2A-containing receptors open three times as often, NR2B-containing receptors stay open longer, so total time open is only about 50 percent greater for NR2A-containing receptors.