Working in the laboratory of the late Hugh McLennan (Department of Physiology, UBC) Stephen Kehl and I discovered that NMDA receptors trigger the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus. Since these early experiments, the roles of glutamate receptors and their associated signalling processes have been extensively studied. I will provide an overview of the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and how this information is being used to understand the molecular basis of, and to develop treatments for, a wide variety of brain disorders. In this respect, I will summarise some of our recent work in the areas of neurodevelopmental, psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.