Glutamate receptor
Glutamate receptors are synaptic and non synaptic receptors located primarily on the membranes of neuronal and glial cells. Glutamate (the conjugate base of glutamic acid) is abundant in the human body, but particularly in the nervous system and especially prominent in the human brain where it is the body's most prominent neurotransmitter, the brain's main excitatory neurotransmitter, and also the precursor for GABA, the brain's main inhibitory neurotransmitter. Glutamate receptors are responsible for the glutamate-mediated postsynaptic excitation of neural cells, and are important for neural communication, memory formation, learning, and regulation.
Neural oscillation
In addition to fast direct synaptic interactions between neurons forming a network, oscillatory activity is regulated by neuromodulators on a much slower time scale. That is, the concentration levels of certain neurotransmitters are known to regulate the amount of oscillatory activity. For instance, GABA concentration has been shown to be positively correlated with frequency of oscillations in induced stimuli. A number of nuclei in the brainstem have diffuse projections throughout the brain influencing concentration levels of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, acetylcholine and serotonin. These neurotransmitter systems affect the physiological state, e.g., wakefulness or arousal, and have a pronounced effect on amplitude of different brain waves, such as alpha activity.