NNRs are comprised of five protein subunits that are arranged like staves of a barrel around a central pore. Each different combination of five subunits represents an NNR subtype. There are several subtypes, each of which is identified by Greek letters.

Scientific evidence has established that individual NNR subtypes have particular functions in the body that are relevant to a number of debilitating diseases and disorders. For example, these targets have been shown to play a role in attention, memory, anxiety, analgesia and weight control. The chart below illustrates the diseases or disorders that may be implicated by various NNR subtypes. Our work is focused on these subtypes.

NNR Subtype	Primary Functions Impacted	Diseases or Disorders Potentially Implicated
a42ß23+	Cognition	Alzheimer’s disease; AAMI; MCI; ADHD
	Pain perception	Acute, chronic and neuropathic pain
a42ß23-	Mood	Depression, anxiety
a75	Sensory gating Cognition	Cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia and other cognitive disorders
	Inflammation	Inflammatory and autoimmune diseases
a6ß3a4	Motor control	Parkinson's disease
	Reward pathways	Smoking cessation, addiction, obesity