Being the most abundant synaptic type, the glutamatergic synapse is responsible for the larger part of the brain’s information processing. Despite the conceptual simplicity of the basic mechanism of synaptic transmission, the glutamatergic synapse shows a large variation in the response to the presynaptic release of the neurotransmitter. This variability is observed not only among different synapses but also in the same single synapse. The synaptic response variability is due to several mechanisms of control of the information transferred among the neurons and suggests that the glutamatergic synapse is not a simple bridge for the transfer of information but plays an important role in its elaboration and management. The control of the synaptic information is operated at pre, post, and extrasynaptic sites in a sort of cooperation between the pre and postsynaptic neurons which also involves the activity of other neurons. The interaction between the different mechanisms of control is extremely complicated and its complete functionality is far from being fully understood. The present review, although not exhaustively, is intended to outline the most important of these mechanisms and their complexity, the understanding of which will be among the most intriguing challenges of future neuroscience.

作为最丰富的突触类型，谷氨酸能突触负责大脑信息处理的大部分。尽管突触传递的基本机制在概念上很简单，但谷氨酸能突触对神经递质的突触前释放的反应显示出很大的变化。这种变异性不仅在不同的突触中观察到，而且在同一个突触中也观察到。突触反应的变异性是由于神经元之间传递的信息的几种控制机制造成的，这表明谷氨酸能突触不是传递信息的简单桥梁，而是在其加工和管理中发挥重要作用。突触信息的控制在前、后、突触前和突触后神经元之间的一种合作，也涉及其他神经元的活动。不同控制机制之间的相互作用极其复杂，其完整的功能还远未被完全理解。本综述虽然不是详尽无遗的，但旨在概述这些机制中最重要的及其复杂性，对其的理解将是未来神经科学最有趣的挑战之一。