Topic: medial nucleus of the trapezoid body

Sensory features are encoded in topographically mapped neuronal populations in the brain. Their fine structure layout is not readily accessible due to their dense wiring and extended volume. To reveal their wiring logic, we combine genetic multicolor labeling of neural cells and large-volume micrometer scale imaging with color multiphoton microscopy. We present an analysis at single neuron resolution of the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB), an essential relay for sound localization, which receives inputs from the cochlear nucleus (CN). Multicolor multiphoton microscopy allowed us to

Glycinergic synapses between the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) and the lateral superior olive (LSO) are involved in sound source localization. These synapses can reliably transmit inhibitory signals, even during minutes of high-frequency activation. Glycine transporter 2 (GlyT2) is involved in glycine reuptake from the synaptic cleft into MNTB axon terminals. Loss of GlyT2 reduces the synaptic transmission but does not lead to a complete failure (Brill et al 2021). The resilience suggests the presence of another glycine source. Here we investigated the contribution of Asc1, a hig

Aims: SCA13 patients carrying the R420H mutation in Kv3.3 also have compromised sound localization based on inferior processing of interaural differences in time and intensity of sound. These patients show no pure-tone deficit in the audiogram and their peripheral auditory system seems unaffected. The Kv3.3 subunit of voltage-gated potassium channels is highly expressed in fast-firing neurons of the auditory pathway, including the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) and the lateral superior olive (LSO) and is often co-expressed with the Kv3.1 subunit. Here, we investigate how this Kv3.

Synaptic integration is crucial for inter-neuronal communication, and excitatory-inhibitory integration is utterly important in lateral superior olive (LSO) neurons, enabling sound localization. For this purpose, LSO neurons integrate excitatory inputs from the ipsilateral cochlear nucleus (CN) with inhibitory inputs from the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB). The strength and number of excitatory and inhibitory inputs show notable differences. The convergence of multiple excitatory input fibers (~10‑40) is a source for synaptic noise in the spike driving inputs. We focused on how sy