Synaptic organization of the lateral geniculate nucleus of the rabbit: lack of feed-forward inhibition

The synaptic organization in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the albino rabbit was studied with an intracellular recording technique. A disynaptic IPSP from the cortex and a trisynaptic IPSP from the optic nerve could be recorded from both fast and slow relay cells. These IPSPs are most likely mediated by a common recurrent inhibitory pathway. No evidence for a feed-forward inhibitory pathway to the relay cells was obtained.