The product of this gene belongs to the serine/threonine protein kinase family and to the Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase subfamily. Calcium signaling is crucial for several aspects of plasticity at glutamatergic synapses. In mammalian cells, the enzyme is composed of four different chains: alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. The product of this gene is a beta chain. It is possible that distinct isoforms of this chain have different cellular localizations and interact differently with calmodulin. Eight transcript variants encoding eight distinct isoforms have been identified for this gene.