In cortical networks, synaptic excitation is mediated by AMPA- and NMDA-type receptors. NMDA differ from AMPA synaptic potentials with regard to peak current, time course, and a strong voltage-dependent nonlinearity. Here we illustrate based on empirical and computational findings that these specific biophysical properties may have profound implications for the dynamics of cortical networks, and via dynamics on cognitive functions like active memory. The discussion will be led along a minimal set of neural equations introduced to capture the essential dynamics of the various phenomena described. NMDA currents could establish cortical bistability and may provide the relatively constant synaptic drive needed to robustly maintain enhanced levels of activity during working memory epochs, freeing fast AMPA currents for other computational purposes. Perhaps more importantly, variations in NMDA synaptic input-due to their biophysical particularities-control the dynamical regime within which single neurons and networks reside. By provoking bursting, chaotic irregularity, and coherent oscillations their major effect may be on the temporal pattern of spiking activity, rather than on average firing rate. During active memory, neurons may thus be pushed into a spiking regime that harbors complex temporal structure, potentially optimal for the encoding and processing of temporal sequence information. These observations provide a qualitatively different view on the role of synaptic excitation in neocortical dynamics than entailed by many more abstract models. In this sense, this article is a plead for taking the specific biophysics of real neurons and synapses seriously when trying to account for the neurobiology of cognition.