Structural variation in key brain receptor enables it to cope with hostile condition

(Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) During a stroke or an epileptic seizure, neurons in affected parts of the brain fire at an abnormally rapid rate. One byproduct of this condition is that the pH of the brain drops markedly, rendering the local environment inhospitably acidic. CSHL scientists have imaged a structural variant of the brain's MNDA receptor that can operate in this hostile environment.