In addition, implementing even relatively subtle leading inhibition in vitro reduced the width

of the coincidence window for bilateral excitatory stimuli to in vivo-like levels. However, the mechanism(s) underlying inhibition-led shifts in ITD location remains uncertain. We did not observe that the presence of preceding inhibition alone led to shifts in the location of the ITD function, although we found that preceding inhibition advanced the peaks of EPSPs by up to 50 μs. Since inhibition is somatic in MSO neurons, shifts in EPSP peak would affect ipsilateral and contralateral EPSPs similarly and thus would not necessarily alter the temporal requirements for summation. Consistent with this, we found that preceding inhibition did not shift the mean or median of the subthreshold ITD functions (Figure S3). We also did not observe differences in the rise times of bilateral excitatory inputs, as previously Selleck Tenofovir reported in slices (Jercog et al., 2010). It is possible that differences between this result Adriamycin chemical structure and our own could be due to the inclusion in our CN-SO slices of synaptic processing by the cochlear nucleus. In support of our findings, recent results from juxtacellular recordings from MSO neurons in vivo indicate that contralateral and ipsilateral synaptic responses are similar in shape and sum linearly (van der Heijden et al., 2013).

While the latter results do not preclude an important role for inhibition in the coding of ITDs, they are inconsistent with the idea that preceding inhibition alone sets ITD selectivity (Grothe, 2003) and indicate instead that ITD detection

differs from both inhibitory and Jeffress models in several important aspects. It is not yet clear how these findings and our own can be reconciled with those of in vivo pharmacological experiments (Brand et al., 2002; Pecka et al., 2008), but resolution of this issue remains an exciting avenue for future research. All procedures were conducted in accordance with The University of Texas at Austin IACUC guidelines. Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were anesthetized with halothane or isoflurane and brains were rapidly heptaminol removed. Slices were prepared in 32°C ACSF and incubated for 30–60 min at 35°C prior to use. ACSF was bubbled with 95% O2/5% CO2 and contained 125 mM NaCl, 25 mM glucose, 25 mM NaHCO3, 2.5 mM KCl, 1.25 mM NaH2PO4, 1.5 mM CaCl2, and 1.5 mM MgSO4. Whole-cell current-clamp recordings were made using Dagan BVC-700A or Molecular Devices MultiClamp 700B amplifiers. Data was filtered at 3–10 kHz, digitized at 50–100 kHz, and acquired using custom algorithms in IgorPro (WaveMetrics). Recording electrodes were pulled to 3–5 MΩ resistances and filled with intracellular solution containing 115 mM K-gluconate, 4.42 mM KCl, 0.5 mM EGTA, 10 mM HEPES, 10 mM Na2Phosphocreatine, 4 mM MgATP, and 0.3 mM NaGTP, osmolality adjusted to 300 mmol/kg with sucrose, pH adjusted to 7.30 with KOH.