Metabotropic glutamate receptors: Allosteric structural modulation and new treatments for anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders are psychiatric ailments that affect people throughout the world. Several studies have revealed that the development of anxiety is affected by changes in glutamatergic neurotransmission. Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) can be allosterically modified, offering a new strategy for developing specific therapeutic agents that affect the cell membrane. Allosteric modulators have many advantages over other therapeutic options. In the field of stress treatment modulation, they can maintain the properties of natural glutamatergic neurotransmission. This review describes the design of allosteric modulators and the advantages of this class of compounds over current stress drugs.