Figure 2.

Diagram of the calyx of Held in the mammalian auditory pathway. (A) The calyx of Held functions in sound localization and is located between globular bushy cells (GBCs) and the principal cells of the contralateral medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB). The calyx of Held is axosomatic and glutamatergic, whereas the principal cell of the MNTB is glycinergic. Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature Neuroscience⁸, copyright 2002. (B) Left: an infrared differential interference contrast (IR-DIC) image of a calyx of Held and principal cell in a brain slice. Right: pseudo-color image of a calyx and principal cell. The presynaptic terminal was filled with Lucifer Yellow and the postsynaptic cell with Cascade Blue. The two pipettes demonstrate the possibility of simultaneous recordings from both pre- and postsynaptic cells. Reproduced by permission from John Wiley and Sons Ltd: Journal of Physiology¹², copyright 1995.