Inhibitory processes in the medial geniculate body

Inhibition in the medial geniculate body was studied with a double click technique. A conditioning click caused a marked inhibition of field potentials and unit discharges to a subsequent test click. Cyclic inhibition with a period of about 150 ms was seen in the medial geniculate body and the auditory cortex, but not in the inferior colliculus. The postsynaptic excitability was tested by recording from the killed ends of the thalamocortical fibres. A preceding click reduced the direct response to a test stimulus delivered to the medial geniculate body indicating the presence of postsynaptic inhibition. The excitability of the fibres from the inferior colliculus terminating in the medial geniculate body was tested with a modified Wall (1958) method. The results suggest the presence of a presynaptic inhibitory mechanism in the medial geniculate body. The techniques employed do not allow an estimation of the relative contribution of the two inhibitory mechanisms to the inhibition at the medial geniculate level.