Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain and dysfunction of glutamate transmission is the likely cause of a variety of diseases including neurodegeneration following cerebral ischemia, Huntington's chorea, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy, spasticity, emesis, chronic pain, and schizophrenia. Excitatory amino acid receptor agonists and antagonists are therefore of major interest as potential drugs for central nervous system disorders. Excitatory Amino Acids is the first book entirely dedicated to the results of human testing of modulators of excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters.

Features include:
* Coverage of the field of excitatory amino acids from synaptic function to preclinical and clinical pharmacology
* Description of the development of NMDA (Nmethyl-d-aspartate) and non-NMDA antagonists
* Reports of potential drugs in early and late clinical stages of development.