Activity of extrasynaptic GABA A receptors mediating tonic inhibition is thought to play an important role for the excitability of the mammalian cerebral cortex. However, little is known about the cell type-specific expression of tonic inhibition in particular types of cortical interneurons. Here, we used transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in somatostatin-positive (SOM) interneurons and investigated tonic inhibition in SOM interneurons versus pyramidal cells in neocortical layers 2/3. In brain slices, pyramidal cells showed a tonic current of 66 +/- 19 pA in response to the delta-subunit selective GABA A agonist THIP (1 microM). On the other hand, tonic inhibition was absent in SOM interneurons (8 +/- 1 pA) in response to THIP. As opposed to pyramidal cells, SOM interneurons were also insensitive to the delta-subunit preferring neurosteroid allotetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone (THDOC) (100 nM) and to elevated endogenous GABA levels in the slice. Finally, SOM interneurons received only 45% of the phasic charge transfer during GABA A receptor-mediated synaptic activity compared with pyramidal cells. Altogether, our study indicates that SOM interneurons receive relatively weak inhibitory input and cannot be brought under the influence of tonic inhibition.