Introduction

The involvement of ionotropic glutamate receptors in epilepsy has been much studied and is reviewed by Chapman and Meldrum in Chapter 22. In burst discharges, the early spikes and part of the paroxysmal depolarizing shift arise from AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid) receptor activation, and the later spikes and much of the depolarizing shift depend on NMDA (N-methyl-d-aspartate) receptor activation. The NMDA receptors also play a key role in selective neuronal degeneration after status epilepticus (SE). Glutamate metabotropic receptors are also involved in acute seizures and in the phenomena of SE. They may be responsible for some characteristic features of SE. Our present knowledge of their functional roles and their contribution to epileptic phenomena is, however, limited. This chapter reviews relevant aspects of glutamate metabotropic receptors and suggests ways in which they may be involved in sustained seizure activity and its aftermath.