A neurotransmitter receptor (also known as a neuroreceptor) is a

membrane receptor protein[1] that is activated by a neurotransmitter.[2] Chemicals

on the outside of the cell, such as a neurotransmitter, can bump into the cell's
membrane and along the membrane we can find receptors. If a
neurotransmitter bumps into its corresponding receptor, they will bind and can
trigger other events to occur inside the cell. Therefore, a membrane receptor is
part of the molecular machinery that allows cells to communicate with one
another. A neurotransmitter receptor is a class of receptors that specifically
binds with neurotransmitters as opposed to other molecules.

Figure 1. The seven transmembrane α-helix structure of a G-protein-coupled receptor.

In postsynaptic cells, neurotransmitter receptors receive signals that trigger an

electrical signal, by regulating the activity of ion channels. The influx of ions
through ion channels opened due to the binding of neurotransmitters to
specific receptors can change the membrane potential of a neuron. This can
result in a signal that runs along the axon (see action potential) and is passed
along at a synapse to another neuron and possibly on to a neural network.
[1] On presynaptic cells, there can be receptor sites specific to the
neurotransmitters released by that cell (see Autoreceptor), which provide
feedback and mediate excessive neurotransmitter release from it. [3]
There are two major types
of neurotransmitter receptors: ionotropic and metabotropic. Ionotropic means that
ions can pass through the receptor, whereas metabotropic means that a second
messenger inside the cell relays the message (i.e. metabotropic receptors do not
have channels). Metabotropic receptors are in fact G protein-coupled receptors.[2]
[4] Ionotropic receptors are also called ligand-gated ion channels and they can
be excited by neurotransmitters (ligands) like glutamate and aspartate. These
receptors can also be inhibited by neurotransmitters like GABA and glycine.
Conversely, G-protein-coupled receptors are neither excitatory nor inhibitory.
Rather, they can have a broad number of functions such as modulating the
actions of excitatory and inhibitory ion channels or triggering a signalling
cascade that releases calcium from stores inside the cell. [2] Most
neurotransmitters receptors are G-protein coupled. [1]