We examined functional properties of inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) evoked by medial lemniscal stimulation, spontaneous IPSCs (sIPSCs), and single channel, extrasynaptic currents evoked by glycine receptor agonists or -aminobutyric acid (GABA) in rat ventrobasal thalamus. We identified synaptic currents by reversal at ECl and sensitivity to elimination by strychnine, GABAA antagonists, or combined application. Glycinergic IPSCs featured short (~12 ms) and long (~80 ms) decay time constants. These fast and slow IPSCs occurred separately with mono-exponential decays, or together with bi-exponential decay kinetics. Glycinergic sIPSCs decayed mono-exponentially with time constants, matching fast and slow IPSCs. These findings were consistent with synaptic responses generated by 2 populations of glycine receptors, localized under different nerve terminals. Glycine, taurine or -alanine applied to excised membrane patches evoked short- and long-duration current bursts. Extrasynaptic burst durations resembled fast and slow IPSC time constants. The single, intermediate time constant (~22 ms) of GABAAergic IPSCs co-transmitted with glycinergic IPSCs, approximated the burst duration of extrasynaptic GABAA channels. We noted differences between synaptic and extrasynaptic receptors. Endogenously activated glycine and GABAA receptor channels had higher Cl- permeability than their extrasynaptic counterparts. The -amino acids activated long-duration bursts at extrasynaptic glycine receptors, consistent with a role in detection of ambient taurine or -alanine. Heterogenous kinetics and permeabilities implicate molecular and functional diversity in thalamic glycine receptors. Fast, intermediate, and slow inhibitory postsynaptic potential decays mostly due to co-transmission by glycinergic and GABAergic pathways, allow for discriminative modulation and integration with voltage-dependent currents in ventrobasal neurons.