Glutamate Receptor, Ionotropic, Kainate 2 (GRIK2)

Glutamate receptors are the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in the mammalian brain and are activated in a variety of normal neurophysiologic processes.Glutamate receptor, ionotropic kainate 2 is a subunit of a kainate glutamate receptor. Glutamate receptors mediate the majority of excitatory neurotransmission in the brain. This receptor may have a role in synaptic plasticity and may be important for learning and memory. It also may be involved in the transmission of light information from the retina to the hypothalamus. The structure and function of the encoded protein is changed by RNA editing. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been described for this gene.