GABAergic synapses and benzodiazepine receptors are not identically distributed in the primate retina

The distribution of benzodiazepine receptors (BZR) was compared to the distribution of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic synapses in the rhesus monkey retina using monoclonal antibodies against the BZR and polyclonal antisera to glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), the GABA-synthesizing enzyme which labels the presynaptic terminals of the GABAergic synapses. Indirect immunofluorescence including dual fluorochroming for both BZR and GAD indicates that although both were localized to the inner plexiform layer and adjacent cell body layers, their distributions were largely non-overlapping. Thus, in the primate retina, BZRs are not exclusively associated with GABAergic synapses.