We studied the functional properties and underlying neural mechanisms associated with inhibitory combination-sensitive neurons in the mustached bat's inferior colliculus (IC). In these neurons, the excitatory response to best frequency tones was suppressed by lower frequency signals (usually in the range 12-30 kHz) in a time-dependant manner. Of 143 inhibitory units, the majority (71%) were type I, in which low frequency sounds evoked inhibition only. In the remainder, however, the low frequency inhibitory signal also evoked excitation. Of these, excitation preceded the inhibition in type E/I units (16%), while in type I/E units (13%) excitation followed the inhibition. Type E/I and I/E units were distinct in the tuning and threshold sensitivity of low frequency responses, while type I units overlapped the other types in these features. In 71 neurons, antagonists to receptors for glycine (strychnine, STRY) or -aminobutyric acid (GABA) (bicuculline, BIC) were applied micro-iontophoretically. These antagonists failed to eliminate combination-sensitive inhibition in 92% (STRY), 93% (BIC), and 87% (BIC+STRY) of the type I units tested. However, inhibition was reduced in many neurons. Results were similar for type E/I and I/E inhibitory neurons. The results indicate that there are distinct populations of combination-sensitive inhibited neurons in the IC, and that these populations are at least partly independent of glycine or GABA_A receptors in the IC. We propose that these populations originate in different brainstem auditory nuclei, that they may be modified by interactions within the IC, and that they may perform different spectrotemporal analyses of vocal signals.