Topic: Medial superior olive

Having two ears enables us to localize sound sources by exploiting interaural time differences (ITDs) in sound arrival. Principal neurons of the medial superior olive (MSO) are sensitive to ITD, and each MSO neuron responds optimally to a best ITD (bITD). In many cells, especially those tuned to low sound frequencies, these bITDs correspond to ITDs for which the contralateral ear leads, and are often larger than the ecologically relevant range, defined by the ratio of the interaural distance and the speed of sound. Using in vivo recordings in gerbils, we found that shortly after hearing onset

The giant synaptic terminals play an important role transmitting information with exquisite precision and speed. The thalamus, an important center for the integration and relay of sensory information, is the brain region innervated by more giant terminals. These giant terminals act like drivers, delivering primary sensory information from the somatosensory, visual and auditory pathways. In the auditory thalamus, the drivers arise from the inferior colliculus. Surprisingly, we have observed a population of giant synaptic terminals in the auditory thalamus arising from the medial superior olive