L-threonate (a metabolite of vitamin C) acts as a unique carrier molecule: (1) it increases the expression of the magnesium transporter protein in the BBB (specifically, L-threonate upregulates BBB Mg transporters); (2) the L-threonate-Mg complex crosses the BBB more efficiently than inorganic magnesium; (3) once in the brain, Mg²⁺ enhances NMDA receptor signaling at the NR2B subunit, this subunit is the "plasticity switch" that enables long-term potentiation (LTP, the cellular basis of memory); (4) brain Mg²⁺ increases presynaptic release probability while simultaneously increasing the number of functional synapses (higher synaptic density); (5) in the prefrontal cortex, elevated Mg²⁺ enhances fear memory extinction, the process by which learned fear responses are overwritten.
Independently graded against 178,763 indexed supplements and 757 reviewed supplement and medication pairs, sourced from PubMed, FDA CAERS, openFDA, and NIH DSLD | Last updated:
Not medical advice. Based on published clinical research and systematic reviews.