Conformational and structural changes of matrix-isolated glycine and glycine water complexes induced by the selective MIR excitation of the fundamental OH and NH stretching vibrational modes were studied. The observed spectral changes are consistent with the former assignments based on matrix-isolation IR spectroscopy combined with NIR laser irradiation. Since fewer conformational barriers can be reached by MIR than by NIR excitations, fewer processes are promoted effectively by MIR radiation. The comparison of spectral changes induced by selective MIR and NIR excitations can facilitate the conformational analysis of complex molecular systems and it can also yield information on the barrier heights. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.