GluN2B but Not GluN2A for Basal Dendritic Growth of Cortical Pyramidal Neurons.

NMDA receptors are important players for neuronal differentiation. We previously reported that antagonizing NMDA receptors with APV blocked the growth-promoting effects evoked by the overexpression of specific calcium-permeable or flip-spliced AMPA receptor subunits and of type I transmembrane AMPA receptor regulatory proteins which both exclusively modify apical dendritic length and branching of cortical pyramidal neurons. These findings led us to characterize the role of GluN2B and GluN2A for dendritogenesis using organotypic cultures of rat visual cortex.