Calyx of Held Calyx of Held The Calyx of Held is a particularly large synapse in the mammalian auditory central nervous system, so named by Hans Held in his 1893 article "Die centrale Gehörleitung" because of its resemblance to the calyx of a flower. Globular bushy cells in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) send axons to the contralateral medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB), where they synapse via these calyces on MNTB principal cells. These principal cells then project to the ipsilateral lateral superior olive (LSO), where they inhibit postsynaptic neurons and provide a basis for interaural level detection (ILD), required for
Calyx of Held the calyx is not only characteristic, but pragmatic in terms of auditory chronological development. As a synapse, the calyx of Held follows a mechanism similar to other synapses. A thorough description can be found under neurotransmission. Calcium influx for the immature calyx of Held is mediated by N-, P/Q-, and R-type calcium channels; however upon maturation only P/Q-type calcium channels become dominant. Upon calcium influx, the immature calyx of Held is highly reactive due to its small calcium buffer ability – this causes the release of glutamate even at low levels of calcium influx. Within the terminal, as with other