Glutamate and migraine: From Ikeda to the 21st century

The discovery of glutamate (Glu) is more than 100 years old, dating from when Ikeda isolated this natural amino acid from seaweed broth. Discoveries of neurotransmitter function, the role of Glu as a neurotransmitter, and Glu receptors and receptor types and functions followed over the subsequent century. To date, it is well established that Glu is the major neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain, and it participates in a myriad of functions in brain physiology and pathophysiology; migraine is no exception.