An important synthesis of thalamic organization noted that: ‘…the thalamus has not had good press in the recent past’ (Sherman and Guillery 1996). The functional role of the auditory thalamus (medial geniculate body; MG) has been eclipsed by the enormous effort aimed at dissecting the properties of cortical neurons. In contrast to the visual and somatic sensory somatic sensory systems, the MG differs conspicuously between the richness of the analysis already performed in the various brain stem stations, and the exquisite range of physiological properties embodied by auditory cortex cells. Is there a specific role for the MG or is it a passive relay between brain stem and cortex?