Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 9HN, United Kingdom, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642, and Richard King Mellon Institute for Pediatric Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15224.
J Neurosci. 2013 Sep 18;33(38):15044-9. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2604-13.2013.
The medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) in the superior olivary complex (SOC) is an inhibitory hub considered critical for binaural sound localization. We show that genetic ablation of MNTB neurons in mice only subtly affects this ability by prolonging the minimum time required to detect shifts in sound location. Furthermore, glycinergic innervation of the SOC is maintained without an MNTB, consistent with the existence of parallel inhibitory inputs. These findings redefine the role of MNTB in sound localization and suggest that the inhibitory network is more complex than previously thought.
中脑被盖腹侧核(MNTB)是上橄榄复合体(SOC)中的一个抑制性中枢,被认为对双耳声源定位至关重要。我们发现,MNTB 神经元在小鼠中的基因缺失仅略微延长了检测声源位置变化所需的最短时间,从而微妙地影响了这种能力。此外,SOC 中的甘氨酸能神经支配在没有 MNTB 的情况下得以维持,这与存在平行抑制性输入的观点一致。这些发现重新定义了 MNTB 在声源定位中的作用,并表明抑制性网络比之前认为的更为复杂。