Ambient GABA-activated tonic inhibition sharpens auditory coincidence detection via a depolarizing shunting mechanism.
Ambient GABA-activated tonic inhibition sharpens auditory coincidence detection via a depolarizing shunting mechanism.
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DOI：
10.1523/jneurosci.4733-10.2011
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发表时间：
2011-04-20
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Lu Y
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Tang ZQ;Dinh EH;Shi W;Lu Y
Tonic inhibition mediated by extrasynaptic γ-aminobutyric acid A receptors (GABAARs) has emerged as a novel form of neural inhibition in the CNS. However, little is known about its presence and function in the auditory system. Using whole-cell recordings in brain slices, we identified a tonic current mediated by GABAARs containing the δ subunit in middle/high-characteristic-frequency neurons of the chicken nucleus laminaris, the first interaural time difference encoder that computes information for sound localization. This tonic conductance was activated by ambient concentrations of GABA released from synaptic vesicles. Furthermore, pharmacological manipulations of the conductance demonstrated its essential role in coincidence detection. Remarkably, this depolarizing tonic conductance was strongly inhibitory primarily owing to its shunting effect. These results demonstrate a novel role for tonic inhibition in central auditory information processing.
