Calyx of Held nervous system has allowed for direct research within a mammalian model and the large size increases the ease of electrophysiological recording. For these reasons it has been popular in understanding transmitter release. Specifically, the calyx of Held is used because of: 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
Calyx of Held MNTB neurons to reach the SOC approximately 0.2 ms following the initial cochlear excitation. This ~0.2 second time measurement is important for comparing the contralateral (opposite side) and ipsilateral (same side) stimulation necessary in sound localization in the horizontal plane, and is key in distinguishing the location of low frequency sounds. For every principal neuron there is one calyx, and for most GBC axons there is only a single calyx, although there are exceptions to this pairing. This in general creates a one-to-one ratio between GBCs, the calyces of Held, and the principal neurons. The calyx of Held encompasses the