Fig. 2.

Three EPSC shapes were used to examine the impact of EPSC shape on spike response patterns. The first shape, s₁(t), was derived by fitting an alpha function to the synaptic currents recorded from the terminals contacting inner hair cells (e.g., Glowatzki and Fuchs 2002; Grant et al. 2010); these shapes are similar to most events from calyx terminals (Sadeghi et al. 2014). The second shape, s₂(t), had a fast onset time [same as s₁(t)] but an elongated decay. Such shapes could result from glutamate accumulation and other complexities related to the unique synaptic cleft of calyx terminals. The third shape, s₃(t), had a long onset and decay phase that could result from a variety of factors, including the slowing and attenuation of synaptic events via dendritic filtering. Detailed description and equations are provided in the text.