Used as a selective antagonist for group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR2/3) in neuroscience research, helping to study synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability. It is also employed to investigate the role of glutamate signaling in learning, memory, and neurodegenerative diseases. Due to its structural similarity to glutamate, it acts as a competitive inhibitor, making it valuable in electrophysiological and pharmacological experiments. Additionally, it serves as a biochemical tool to probe enzyme activity in metabolic pathways involving amino acids.