excitotoxin

excitotoxin
ex·ci·to·tox·in ik-'sīt-ə-.täk-sən n an excitotoxic agent (as kainic acid)

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ex·ci·to·tox·in (ek-siґto-tok″sin) any of a group of neurotoxic substances found in certain plants or made synthetically; they are analogous to glutamic acid and mimic its excitatory effects on neurons of the central nervous system as well as producing lesions on the perikarya; several of them are used experimentally to study the excitatory mechanisms of glutamate transmitters. They include ibotenic acid, kainic acid, quisqualic acid, and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA).

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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